A Crop of Good and Evil
by LuckyDuck29
Summary: In this sequel to You Reap What You Sew, Bushroot is still being reformed. Max and the Fearsome Four have escaped. New alliances will have to be formed on both sides. Please see my profile for the link to the ld29info forum for the author's notes
1. Happy New Year

Bushroot woke on New Years Day feeling optimistic. These last few weeks with his new friends had been the best of his life. He didn't dare call them his friends out loud yet, though. He was afraid it was too soon, especially for Darkwing. The trial period was nowhere near over yet and Darkwing was still skeptical.

Bushroot never thought he would like Darkwing and Launchpad, but he didn't like anything much before. He'd been bitter and angry. His loneliness had made him hate everything and everyone. The plants and trees had been his only friends because they never hurt him.

An image of Heather popped into his head and his optimism dimmed a little. He wished things could have been different with her. But this was a new year. Maybe somehow he would make things right with her. He only hoped he would eventually be able to convince her to give him a chance.

Negaduck and the Liquidator had arranged for Bushroot and Heather to become friends when they'd had psychic powers a few weeks ago. Heather's X-husband was in jail. She didn't want to get mixed up with another criminal. She had a son to think about and she couldn't do that to him. Max had been taken to jail while Heather watched. She didn't want to go through that again herself, never mind making Marvin go through it again.

As far as Bushroot knew, he was the only one who knew their meeting was rigged and that Negaduck had planned to use Heather to get Bushroot to do what he wanted. Bushroot never wanted to be evil in the first place. Now, thanks to Launchpad and Darkwing, he was getting a second chance. He wondered if Heather would ever give him one, too. He had helped her get the divorce that her husband had been fighting. He hoped that would work in his favor once he was able to prove himself. But even if he never saw Heather again, he would never go back to being evil. He liked himself better this way. He was much happier and he had people that could be true friends.

Bushroot was amazed at what a difference a few weeks made. He had learned a lot since the day of his arraignment, not only about friendship and goodness, but about himself. He talked for hours about his childhood and his adult life before he became a plant. Launchpad was a good listener. Bushroot felt more comfortable talking to him than to Darkwing because Darkwing still had his doubts about Bushroot. When Bushroot asked certain questions, Darkwing would give him strange looks. One or both of his eyebrows would go up and he would sometimes accompany the look with a sarcastic remark under his breath. Launchpad would answer patiently, while Darkwing was clearly thinking "I can't believe you have to ask."

Even Christmas hadn't been lonely for Bushroot this year. Launchpad and Gosalyn had come over for a few hours, and Gosalyn had even brought her father, Drake. He was a nice guy.

They had a snowball fight, Launchpad and Bushroot against Drake and Gosalyn. The four of them had laughed and teased each other, and Drake and Gos won the fight.

Bushroot smiled, thinking that since Christmas, Darkwing had been friendlier and seemed to finally be warming up to him. He hadn't made a wisecrack about villainous vegetables once in the past week. He had even stopped doing that thing with his eyebrows. Maybe he had talked with Drake, Launchpad and Gosalyn about Bushroot's good behavior on Christmas Day. Bushroot thought it wouldn't be long before Darkwing would start to trust him, even if only a little.

"Escape alert!" The alarms went off at the same time the urgent call came over the loudspeaker. "Escape alert! Max Aubrey and the Fearsome Four have escaped! Call out the dogs and put the prison in lockdown mode!"

"Call out the dogs?" Max asked from their hiding place behind a huge bush just outside the prison gates. "Why do they think a pack of dogs can stop you guys, especially since one of you is one?"

"They don't have a clue," Negaduck scoffed. "I've lost count of how many times they've locked us up, only to have us escape again. No jail can hold the Fearsome-" he paused, about to say "five," but the pause was barely noticeable. "Four."

"When are you gonna tell us who you're thinking about getting to replace Bushroot, Negaduck?" Quackerjack asked. His whiny voice set Max's teeth on edge, but he was an OK guy. They all were, for hardened criminals. Max liked hardened criminals; he was one himself, and he planned to get harder.

"Shut up!" Negaduck said sharply. "Do you want any of the cops to hear us? We need to find a hideout first, then I'm going to talk to them alone. If they want in, I'll bring them back to the hideout and introduce you."

Max had come to like these guys since he'd befriended them a week ago. After Bushroot, was released into Darkwing Duck's custody, Max had heard them talking about how they were going to get back at him for turning traitor. He liked guys who wanted revenge; he wanted to get even with a few people himself, including Bushroot.

These four were ruthless, especially Negaduck. Max thought Negaduck was the most dangerous of all of them, which also made him the most useful. They were also very creative. "Of course," Max thought, "I'd probably be creative, too, if I had their powers. Bushroot was a fool. Why in the world would he want to be good when he could get anything he wanted just by teaming up with these guys? They were one of the most powerful evil teams in Saint Canard, and Bushroot had been a member, but he'd thrown it away.

Max's mood darkened. Bushroot had thrown away his association with Negaduck and the others because of Max's wife, heather. That guy had a lot to answer for. Max couldn't wait to meet up with him again.

They had had to escape today in particular because the Four's trial was tomorrow. It had taken time for Max to convince them that he could be trusted. His main reason for liking them was that he could be himself around them. They knew they could trust him, but they also knew he'd betray them in a second if something better came along.

He had arranged for the Beagle Boys to help them escape. They would come to Saint Canard and commit a minor crime that would land them in jail for only a few hours. The distraction of new criminals would get the cops off their backs long enough for them to pull off the escape. Ma Beagle was waiting with a getaway car. In return for their help, Max and his new friends would help the Beagles rob Scrooge McDuck's money bin. The Beagles weren't sure they could depend on Max; his plan to rob Glomgold had failed. But they had heard of the Fearsome Five, and even though they were short a member now, they were still a formidable team. Max managed to convince Ma Beagle that with the Fearsome Four, five if the person Negaduck wanted to recruit would agree to join, on their side, Scrooge McDuck didn't have a chance.

After his last failed job, Max had promised himself he would stick to the small fries, but he was used to breaking promises. Breaking a promise to himself, though, would be a new experience. He only hoped it wouldn't come back to haunt him.

Negaduck didn't tell anyone what he was planning because he didn't want anyone messing things up. Max would be a good ally, but he would never be a member of the Fearsome Five because he had no super powers. Negaduck actually had two people in mind. He was impatient to get things started, and one of his potential team members was easier to reach than the other, so he would talk to her first. Besides being more accessible, Negaduck thought she would be easier to control than his other potential recruit. He might eventually replace her with his other prospect, but she would do for now.

Negaduck hated to admit it, even to himself, but he was more than a little afraid to meet the other criminal. He was even more dangerous than Negaduck, and that was saying a lot! But Negaduck also admired him and wanted to be more like him. If villains could have heroes, this person would be Negaduck's. He would even be willing to let him take over as leader if he joined the Fearsome Five. Realistically, though, Negaduck had to admit that his chances of getting this particular villain to join the Fearsome Five were slim to none. He would most likely refuse, unless he felt he didn't have a choice, or the Five suited his purposes for a very compelling reason. Negaduck thought he could offer him that incentive, and it would benefit all of them, including Max. If Negaduck could ever meet this guy and get him on their side, he could have the ultimate revenge on Darkwing and the Justice Ducks. He could also have his revenge on Bushroot by getting rid of Darkwing and Launchpad. Those two do-gooders had agreed to help Bushroot betray Negaduck. They were all going to have to learn that betraying Negaduck was never acceptable.

He grinned evilly to himself as the getaway car pulled up and they all ran for it. Fortunately for all of them, the cops hadn't thought to look here yet. "Saint Canard cops," Negaduck thought sarcastically. "How did they ever pass the Police Academy? Well, that'll just make it easier for us to pull this off." He had promised Max and the rest of his team members that this would be a year filled with victories for all of them. Whatever it took, he intended to keep that promise.

Heather wasn't sure what woke her, but something didn't feel right. She went to check on Marvin. He was fine. He should be waking up in about half an hour.

She went downstairs, where her mother was making breakfast.

"Good morning, Dear," Elizabeth said cheerfully. ""The coffee's done and I have-" she broke off, registering the worried look on Heather's face. "What's wrong?"

"I'm not sure. I just have this feeling something bad is going to happen."

"Well, you've had a very stressful time lately. You're probably just reacting to everything that happened with Max and Reggie. But this is a new year; things are bound to get better now."

Heather hoped so. She didn't need anymore trouble. Max had finally given her the divorce she'd been fighting for and she had narrowly avoided getting involved with another criminal. But Reggie was different from Max; he had helped get her the divorce. Max claimed Reggie had only talked to him, but Heather couldn't shake the feeling that he'd done something more drastic to get Max to divorce her. But she also couldn't shake the feeling that Reggie was more a victim of circumstance than a truly evil person. The mental argument had been raging for weeks.

"Mom's probably right," she thought. "I can't go looking for trouble. I'm probably just stressed out."

She decided this was going to be a good year for her and Marvin. She was going to get on with her life and forget that Max Aubrey and Reggie Bushroot ever existed. Marvin had been the only good thing to come out of her marriage. She still had him, and she was going to give him the best life possible.

The Flashquack landed beside Drake, startling him awake.

"Huh?" he asked, jumping up. "What ? Where?"

He saw the Flashquack on his pillow and picked it up. It contained an urgent message for Darkwing to call J Gander ASAP.

Launchpad and Gosalyn were still asleep. Drake went to the tower and changed, then called J Gander.

"What's up, J Gander?"

"The Fearsome, uh, four, have escaped police custody. Apparently they have new allies. The Beagle Boys helped them, and another prisoner named Max Aubrey, escape just this morning, about an hour ago."

Darkwing frowned. There was something about the name Max Aubrey that was familiar. He knew who the Beagle Boys were, and LP knew them personally. He had helped his old boss defeat them countless times. But what was it about the name Max Aubrey? He felt like he should know it from somewhere.

"What do you know about this Aubrey character?" Darkwing asked J Gander.

"He's helped the Beagle Boys before. He was sent to prison for helping them try to rob Flintheart-"

"Glomgold!" Darkwing finished, excited. That was where he'd heard the name before. The woman who owned the house before them said Max Aubrey was her daughter's husband. Hadn't she said her daughter's name was Heather? Could that be the same Heather that had rejected Bushroot? Darkwing tried to think back to the night of the psychic war. Had Heather given her last name? No, but hadn't she mentioned the name Max? He would have to talk to Bushroot.

Darkwing suddenly remembered that he'd never removed the homing device from Negaduck's hat. If Negaduck hadn't found it, he could track him and find their hideout.

"Don't worry, J Gander. Darkwing Duck is on the case!"

He disconnected, then checked the homing device. Negaduck's yellow tracker dot was still active. He needed to wake Launchpad immediately, but not until after he put the coffee on. He needed to wake himself up, too.

"LP, wake up!" Darkwing said urgently, shaking Launchpad's shoulder.

"Huh?" Launchpad asked sleepily. His eyes opened a little, just enough to see Darkwing. "DW? Why are yah still in costume?"

"I just changed; the Flashquack woke me up! We need to get going; we have a case! The Fearsome Four have escaped!"

Launchpad's eyes popped the rest of the way open.

"Do you think they'll come after Bushroot?"

"I hadn't thought of that, but it's possible. We'll have to warn him, and I need to ask him about something, too. Come downstairs and help me with breakfast; I've got the coffee on already."

Launchpad had to grin. DW wasn't acting like he needed coffee. He had a case, which automatically excited him more than caffeine could, but like a lot of people, he always needed that first cup of coffee in the morning.

"They've got help this time," DW said as he poured his coffee. "Some guy named Max Aubrey, and the Beagle Boys."

"The Beagle Boys!"

"Yeah, and I'll need to ask you about them; I know you've had a lot of experience with them. But some thing about the name Max Aubrey bothers me. It feels like I should know it. I have a feeling it has to do with that woman Bushroot liked."

"Heather, yeah. She said she and Marvin deserved better than to get involved with another criminal. She said she saw Marvin's father dragged off to jail and didn't want to go through that again."

"Marvin, yeah! I couldn't remember whether she'd actually mentioned the name Max."

"I don't think so, but she definitely said Marvin. Remember the lady who owned this house before us?"

"That's what I was thinking; it's her family, isn't it?"

"Too many coincidences; they have to be the same people."

"Didn't she say they lived on Redwing Road?"

"Yeah."

"I think we should go talk to them."

"Bushroot's gonna wanna help."

"But if they're gonna come after him-"

"All the more reason to let him help. He cares about Heather and Marvin and he'll need to know what he's up against so he can protect himself better. He's got a lot more to deal with now than just the Five. I mean, the Four. I don't know about this Max guy, but the Beagles are mean. They've even kidnapped Huey, Dewey and Louie to get what they want from Mr. McD. They took Doofus once, too, so I wouldn't turn them into the cops."

"They would hurt kids? How old is Marvin?"

"Mrs. Fern said Marvin was born about a week before we came to see the house, so he must be a little over a year now."

"Looks like we've got our work cut out for us," Darkwing said thoughtfully.

Launchpad saw the look in DW's eyes that meant he was up for a challenge. He could almost see the adrenalin rushing through DW's body. Launchpad thought he should be more worried about facing all these enemies without more backup than he was, but his knowledge of the Beagle Boys made him feel more confident. These were not only villains he'd faced and beaten before he knew DW, but they were also not very bright. Also, Darkwing and Launchpad had a former Fearsome Five member on their side now. He was reasonably sure they'd have this business wrapped up and the crooks back in jail before the Five's trial tomorrow. Neither of them had any idea that things were about to get more complicated.


	2. Speculation

"Negaduck and Max will want revenge," Bushroot said thoughtfully when Darkwing and Launchpad explained the situation.

"Do you think Heather and Marvin could be in danger?" Darkwing asked. Bushroot had confirmed that it was the same Heather.

"Probably; I don't trust Max Aubrey any further than I could throw him."

"OK, so we've got the Fearsome Four, plus Max to deal with. Max shouldn't be a problem, and you can help us with the four. We also have the Beagle Boys and Launchpad knows about them."

"So does Gizmoduck," Launchpad said. Darkwing would think it was just an off-handed comment, that it was Launchpad forgetting that Darkwing didn't like Gizmoduck. It was really a reminder to DW that they might need the backup of the Justice Ducks with all these enemies and that Gizmoduck would be an asset in this situation.

"Right," Darkwing said, trying not to grit his teeth at the mention of his rival glory hog. He knew that Gizmoduck was Launchpad's friend, too, which was why he tried to be civil to Gizmoduck most of the time since the Justice Ducks had been assembled. Launchpad was Gizmoduck's friend, but Darkwing's sidekick. Darkwing didn't want to make him feel like he had to choose.

"How can I help?" Bushroot asked.

"We need you to talk to the plants and trees around the prison," Darkwing said. "We need to know if Max and the Four discussed their plans anywhere near where the plant life could overhear them. Any piece of information could be crucial in recapturing them, and in locking up the Beagle Boys, too."

"Is that all? I mean, isn't there anything else I can do?"

"We won't know that until we find out what, if anything, the plants know. I still have a homing device on Negaduck, so I could track him to where their hideout is and get them, but we wouldn't know if they had other plans, or other allies. They could have a backup plan in case they get caught again, or they may have given the Beagles specific instructions."

"They're not that smart, except for maybe Negaduck."

"I know Negaduck is that smart."

"I don't know if the Beagles are smart enough to follow his instructions," Launchpad said. "Ma Beagle won't like being given orders either. It could be interesting to see how the Fearsome Four and the Beagle Boys get along."

"Well, hopefully their inability to work together will be to our advantage," Bushroot said. "Negaduck won't like sharing leadership either, and from what you've said, he's gonna be in a major power struggle with Ma Beagle."

"I don't think it'll be enough for them to cancel each other out," Darkwing said, "but you're right, Bushroot; it probably will work to our advantage. Let's go to the prison and find out what the trees know."

Later, Bushroot stood by the bush the escaped prisoners had been hiding behind earlier that morning as they waited for Ma Beagle's getaway car.

"Uh-oh," he said nervously.

"What?" Darkwing and Launchpad asked at the same time.

"He heard everything they said. They're looking for a new member to take my place. Negaduck won't tell them who he has in mind, but he's going to talk to them as soon as they find a hideout. The one we were using before was condemned about a week after our last battle."

"Ask if he heard anything Max and the others didn't," Darkwing ordered, "something Negaduck might have said under his breath."

"No, they all talked in whispers. But Negaduck didn't say whether the new member would be a man or a woman."

"Really?" Darkwing asked, surprised. "A female Fearsome Five member; I wonder who would fit that position."

"Ammonia Pine?" Launchpad suggested.

"It's possible," Darkwing said thoughtfully. "She's crazy enough."

'Who's Ammonia Pine?" Bushroot asked. The "crazy" comment didn't bother him; he supposed he had been a little crazy before, and he knew the others were definitely crazy and proud of it.

"Ever heard of an organization called Fowl?" Launchpad asked.

Bushroot shook his head.

"It's the Fiendish Organization for World Larceny. Ammonia's one of their agents."

"She used to be a cleaning lady," Darkwing explained, "until she had an accident. Now she's obsessed with cleaning and can't stand dirt. Fowl is the opposite to Shush."

"You don't suppose Negs and Fowl would team up, do you?" Bushroot asked.

Launchpad and Darkwing looked at each other, startled.

"I hope not," Launchpad said.

"That's trouble we definitely don't need," Darkwing agreed.

Before the first battle between the Justice Ducks and the Fearsome Five, Darkwing would have been ecstatic at the chance to take on Fowl and the Five all on his own. His refusal to be a team player and the disaster that had resulted had squashed that arrogant fantasy in a hurry. He wasn't willing to admit to needing help from the Justice Ducks yet in this case, but he wouldn't hesitate to call them if it became necessary.

Darkwing pulled out his tracker. Launchpad and Bushroot watched his face as he looked at it. He went from his usual confidence to a worried frown.

"What's wrong, DW?" Launchpad asked, concerned.

"He's out of range. Is he bringing in someone outside Saint Canard?"

"Who would he bring in?" Bushroot asked. "From where?"

"The Beagle Boys are from Duckburg," Darkwing said to Launchpad. "Can you think of anyone else there who would help Negaduck? Can you think of anyone who might fit the requirements for being a member of the Fearsome Five?"

Launchpad thought for a minute. Glomgold was rich, but didn't have super powers. Negaduck might go to him for financial backing, but that didn't feel right. He thought of Mr. McD's enemies, and only one person he knew of would meet Negaduck's requirements. Negaduck would love to have someone like that on his team; he was probably talking to this person right now. Launchpad hoped he was wrong, but he didn't think so.

Darkwing watched Launchpad's face as he thought. He knew instantly when LP came up with the answer, and it wasn't and answer he liked. He used to have the same look on his face when he was afraid Morgana would hurt DW with her magic before she agreed not to use the magic to win an argument.

"We may need more than the Justice Ducks," Launchpad said seriously. "We might need Mr. McD's help, too. There's only one person I can think of who would fit into the Fearsome Five and Mr. McD knows them better than anyone."

"Well," Darkwing said, trying not to show his impatience. It wasn't like Launchpad to be secretive. "Who is it?"

"Tell yah on the way to Duckburg," he said, heading for the Thunderquack. They hadn't taken the Ratcatcher because there wouldn't have been room for Bushroot. Darkwing didn't think either Launchpad or Bushroot would have been comfortable sitting on the other's lap. "I think we better talk to Mr. McD right away, before Negaduck has too much time to make plans if he manages to convince his new friend to help him. This could get a lot worse than the Five having psychic powers if we let it."

Darkwing and Bushroot exchanged puzzled looks as they followed Launchpad. Darkwing was feeling that role reversal again. He decided that in this case it was necessary. Launchpad knew Duckburg and its villains; Darkwing didn't, except for the bits and pieces Launchpad happened to bring up during casual conversations.

Darkwing didn't like the role reversal feeling and he knew it made Launchpad feel just as uncomfortable. But LP had been right about Bushroot, and considering how well he knew these new villains, he was probably right about this potential new Fearsome Five member, too.

Darkwing knew that he himself saw things in terms of black and white, or good and evil. He acted on what he saw as the evidence. Launchpad acted on his feelings. He didn't let his feelings control him, but he did take them into consideration, as well as the feelings of the people around him, even the people they were fighting.

If it hadn't been for LP, Bushroot would be with the Five today instead of helping Darkwing and Launchpad try to defeat them. Darkwing would have never even considered the possibility of giving him a chance to reform, or even believing he wanted to. "I'm the thinker," Darkwing thought, "and Launchpad's the feeler."

It was a gross over simplification of their relationship, both professionally as boss and sidekick and personally as friends and roommates. Over the past year, some of Launchpad's sensitivity to the feelings of others had rubbed off on Darkwing, and Darkwing thought some of his confidence and bravery had rubbed off on LP, too. "Launchpad's gotten more from me than I have from him in that respect," Darkwing thought, "but that's because he's more receptive."

Darkwing could be hard headed and stubborn and he knew it. His ego, which was slowly deflating to a more manageable size, was partly the cause of that. Until recently, he had been making Launchpad out to be much less important to their team than he really was. He was so much more than just a pilot or a sidekick, and Darkwing had known that practically since the day LP came to bale him out of jail and they had rescued Gosalyn from Taurus Bulba.

Darkwing's life would have been very different without Gos and Launchpad, and the differences would have been tragic. Gosalyn would have been killed. Darkwing would have still been alone, and he might still be in jail for the train robbery Taurus Bulba had committed. Each of them, Gosalyn included, had a quality or set of qualities that was essential to making their team work, both as heroes and as a family. Darkwing would have never guessed on the day he met Launchpad that he would become like a brother to Drake/Darkwing and an uncle figure to Gosalyn, the child Drake never thought he'd have. The two of them together had made Drake a better person and Darkwing a better crime fighter. He didn't know what he'd do if anything happened to either of them.

"Darkwing?" Bushroot asked, sounding concerned.

"Huh?" Darkwing asked, blinking.

"You OK, DW?" Launchpad asked, his concern matching Bushroot's.

Darkwing suddenly realized they were stopped at the Thunderquack. Launchpad and Bushroot were already inside the plane, staring at him expectantly.

"Yeah," he said absently, "I was just thinking."

He got into the Thunderquack, then a thought struck him out of nowhere.

"Say, LP, what was it you didn't want to tell me in front of Negaduck when he was psychic and we were wearing the shield helmets?"

Launchpad looked at him blankly.

"We were trying to decide what to do with him before the young couple he controlled attacked us," Darkwing reminded him. "You reminded me that we couldn't take him to jail because he could still control the cops. You said he might make the cops let him go, or- then you stopped because you didn't want to give him any ideas."

Launchpad thought for a few seconds, still giving Darkwing a blank look, then remembered.

"Oh yeah! I was gonna say he could make the cops think we were the guilty ones."

Darkwing stared in surprise as Launchpad took off for Duckburg. That had never even occurred to him, which surprised him even more than the fact that LP had been the one to think of it. Darkwing knew he underestimated Launchpad, but was only now beginning to realize how little credit he'd actually given his best friend since they'd teamed up to fight crime.

Launchpad explained his theory on the way to Duckburg about who was teaming up with the five and his reasons for believing it. The Beagle Boys were not powerful enough to be actual members, although they would do as allies Negaduck could control, kind of as servants. Glomgold was financially powerful, but had no super powers. There was only one person left, and she had both power and the desire to create chaos. For the right price, she would definitely agree, at least until something better came along. Launchpad suddenly had a feeling that his old life and his new life were about to collide, and it made him feel very disoriented. He hoped his guess was wrong, but if he was right, he hoped Mr. McD could give them the incite they needed to get some control over the situation before it got completely out of hand. This was going to be a long day.


	3. Alliances

Darkwing smiled as he watched Launchpad's face light up when Webby and the boys came rushing out of the mansion to meet him. Scrooge followed, smiling. Darkwing recognized all of them from the photo album LP had shown him and Gosalyn. Darkwing knew that a big part of Launchpad would always be in Duckburg with these kids and their sometimes greedy but always good-hearted uncle. The thought gave Darkwing an unexpected pang of jealousy.

Bushroot watched everyone around him, trying to suppress the feeling of being out of place and in the way. He and Darkwing hung back as Launchpad greeted his old friends. Bushroot saw Darkwing smile, then frown slightly. He understood the smile, but not the frown, which disappeared almost as quickly as it had appeared. Launchpad was hugging the kids and didn't seem to notice either Darkwing or Bushroot.

Darkwing knew it was silly to feel jealous. He hadn't had real friends before he met LP and Gos. He had been a loner all through his childhood. In the lower grades he had one boy who paid attention to him, but only to bully him and try to get him to cause trouble with him and his gang. Later, in High School, he was outcast and given the nickname Drake the Dweeb. It wasn't actually that Launchpad was giving and receiving this kind of attention that made him feel jealous, but that Drake/Darkwing didn't have anyone who would give him this kind of attention, or get it from him. "But you do now," he reminded himself. "Launchpad, Gosalyn, Morgana, even the other Justice Ducks would greet you like that if you hadn't seen them in a while."

"You're just in time for lunch," Scrooge said cheerfully. "It's good to see you, Lad, but what are you doing here?" He paused, noticing Darkwing and Bushroot. "This must be Darkwing. Pleased to meet you finally. And who's your other friend?"

"I'm pleased to finally meet you, too," Darkwing said truthfully to all of them. "Launchpad's told me so much about you that I feel like I've known you forever."

It was a cliché, but not an exaggeration. These people were very important to Launchpad. Darkwing knew that Launchpad loved them as much as he loved Darkwing and Gosalyn.

"As for what we're doing here, it's a long story and I suppose it begins with Bushroot here."

"Well, come in and have lunch with us," Scrooge said. "We'd like to catch up with Launchpad, and then you can tell us your story."

Darkwing suppressed the urge to tell him they were pressed for time. They were, but he couldn't begrudge Launchpad the chance to catch up with his old friends.

Launchpad knew what DW was thinking and was grateful that his boss wasn't going to rush this. He knew how short time was and would make Bushroot's involvement in the current situation part of the stories he told as he caught Mr. McD and the kids up on his life since he left Duckburg. From the way the kids were looking at Bushroot, they probably had a lot of questions for him. Launchpad hoped Bushroot wouldn't be offended.

Bushroot was used to all kinds of reactions from people, and the most prevalent was fear, especially among children. But he was pleased to see these kids looking at him with interest, fascination and friendliness. Maybe it was the fact that he was with Launchpad; they obviously trusted him and knew he would never bring someone who would hurt them. He felt a rush of affection and renewed gratitude towards Launchpad. He had been the first to accept the possibility that Bushroot could turn his life around, even before Bushroot could fully accept it himself. Thanks to Launchpad, and a tree in Duckburg Park named Herman, Bushroot was in the process of becoming a whole new duck.

Launchpad told everyone about a lot of the past year's adventures with DW, realizing as he talked how much a part of his life the Fearsome Five had become, both individually and as a team. He and DW fought them for the most part, but a few times one member or another had teamed up with them. The most important of these times had been Twin Beaks, but none of them knew that then.

Because the Five were some of the villains they needed help dealing with, Launchpad centered his stories around them. He would tell Mr. McD and the kids about Fowl and the aliens and the mad scientists another time.

Darkwing kept quiet through most of the conversation, knowing that Launchpad was giving the pertinent information that would make Scrooge understand why the remaining Fearsome members were so dangerous. He also knew that LP would have a better chance of convincing Scrooge that Bushroot really was helping them now than either Darkwing or Bushroot would have. Scrooge barely knew either of them.

Bushroot told his story, too, admitting his crimes and hoping that Launchpad's friends would see that he wasn't' that person anymore. Scrooge was obviously reserving judgment, but the kids were fascinated. Bushroot admitted that he was still reforming, but that he honestly didn't want to be evil anymore. Little Webby seemed to be the one who was most willing to accept that, but none of the others, including Scrooge, challenged him.

Darkwing was impressed by the efficient way Launchpad brought everyone up to speed on the Five and then began to lead smoothly into the current situation, starting with a brief summary of the psychic war and Bushroot's trial period.

"Do you need Gizmoduck, then?" Scrooge asked when Launchpad explained that he suspected the Fearsome Five's new member was probably from Duckburg.

"We might," Launchpad said, glancing at Darkwing, "but right now we need to know everything you know that I don't about Magica De Spell."

"Magica?" Scrooge asked, puzzled. "Why? What would she have to do with this?"

"I think she's Negaduck's choice for a new member."

Negaduck would kill anyone who suggested it, but this woman was making him very nervous. She was more formidable than he'd thought. Maybe this was a mistake.

"So, is deal?" Magica asked in her gruff, thickly accented voice. "If I help you take over Saint Canard, you help me get Scrooge McDuck's lucky dime?"

This had been Magica's price. Negaduck had no idea why she would want one lousy dime when Scrooge McDuck had three cubic acres of cash. Part of him was suspicious, but the rest of him was grinning like the cat that ate the canary. This would be the cheapest labor he'd ever gotten.

Magica was elated. All she had to do was help defeat Darkwing Duck and the Justice Ducks and she would get Scrooge's number one dime, which could be made into a magic amulet that would give her the power to rule the world. Negaduck and his friends could keep Saint Canard; Magica would have the rest of it.

"Deal," Negaduck said with finality. He smiled. "Now we have a fighting chance against Darkwing's sorceress girlfriend, too."

Magica smiled back. That was another reason she wanted to accept this challenge. Negaduck didn't know it, but Magica had her own reasons for wanting to meet up with Morgana McCawber. Things were about to get more interesting than they had been in a long time for Magica. She'd been in a rut for a while; this was finally a chance to get out of it and do something productive. Saint Canard and Duckburg weren't going to know what hit them.

"It makes sense," Scrooge said thoughtfully when Launchpad explained his theory. "But how could this Negaduck character convince Magica to join with him? What could he possibly offer her that she doesn't already have, or that she couldn't get herself?"

"'the one thing she wants, but has never been able to get," Launchpad said seriously, looking directly into Scrooge's eyes.

Darkwing and Bushroot exchanged questioning looks, then looked back at Launchpad and Scrooge. Launchpad was waiting expectantly for Scrooge to catch on. Scrooge suddenly gasped, looking horrified.

"My lucky dime!" he cried.

"Right," Launchpad said.

"Dime?" Darkwing and Bushroot asked together. Bushroot's tone was confused; Darkwing's was incredulous.

Launchpad was quick to explain the situation before Darkwing could unintentionally say something that would offend Scrooge.

"Yeah," Darkwing said thoughtfully, "Negaduck would promise her that. If the Beagles, the Five and Magica work together, they just might have a chance at your dime, not to mention the rest of your fortune."

"But why does it have to be that dime specifically?" Bushroot asked. "Why can't she just use any ordinary dime for her amulet? If all she needs is a dime to take over the world-"

"I have a theory about that," Scrooge said. "Magica's an evil sorceress. She'll cheat any way she can to get what she wants."

Darkwing removed his fedora briefly to scratch his head, trying to think where he'd heard similar words in reference to someone else. Something told him it had to do with someone else in Duckburg and that it might be important.

"I earned my first dime just like the rest of my fortune, fair and square," Scrooge continued, taking no notice of Darkwing. "Evil has to be balanced with good; even an evil person knows that. I think Magica's evil amulet has to have some good in it or it won't work."

"But you gave her an ordinary dime once, Mr. McD," Launchpad said. "You earned that one honestly, too, and when Magica tried to use it to make the amulet it exploded."

"Aye, and if my theory is correct, that makes sense, too. My old number one was the start of my fortune and I've been able to do a lot of good with it. The power of that first dime outweighed the power of the ordinary dime. That's why Magica needs that one in particular; the power of its goodness balances the power of the evil in the rest of the amulet."

"That makes a lot of sense," Darkwing said, thinking of everything Master Lee had taught him about balance during his Quack-Fu training. "How protected is your lucky dime?"

"Well, it's as protected as it can be; it's in a glass case in me money bin and Gizmoduck guards the bin."

"Well, if we're going to keep Magica from getting it, we'd better keep Gizmoduck here," Darkwing said happily. This would keep Gizmoduck in Duckburg and still give him the opportunity to do his part as a Justice Duck. Darkwing could handle the Saint Canard end of it without what he saw as his rival's interference.

Scrooge and the kids looked at him strangely. Launchpad rolled his eyes. Bushroot, not knowing the extent of the rivalry between Darkwing and Gizmoduck, looked confused.

"They don't like each other," Launchpad explained.

"But Gizmoduck said you've worked together before," Scrooge said to Darkwing.

"Yeah, he's a Justice duck and I'll admit he's got his good points, but being a glory hog isn't one of them."

Launchpad and Bushroot smiled at each other. They both knew Darkwing was seeing a quality in Gizmoduck that he himself possessed. It was a case of seeing in someone else something you might not like in yourself. Darkwing, still focused on Scrooge, didn't notice.

"I have a vested interest in this case," Scrooge said. "I'd like to come back to Saint Canard with you. I think I can do more there than I can here in Duckburg. Gizmoduck can handle the protection of the dime and the money bin."

Launchpad was surprised. He looked at Scrooge, then smiled when he saw the look in his old boss's eyes. It was the same look he got at the start of an adventure. Launchpad thought maybe Mr. McD had begun to miss the adventures, too.

"Well, OK," Darkwing said, "but what exactly is it that you think you can do in Saint Canard that you can't do here?"

"Magica wants me old number one, but she also likes the confrontation, the challenge of battling with me. She knows if she gets the dime, I'll come looking for it. I want to make her job a little easier."

"Are yah gonna use the dime as bate?" Launchpad asked.

"Aye, that's part of it. I also think it would be better to have all our enemies in one place. Don't you agree, Darkwing?"

Darkwing nodded.

"The beagle boys will be there, and so will Magica. I wouldn't be surprised if they somehow got Flintheart in on the action, too."

"That's where I heard it!" Darkwing thought. Launchpad had described Glomgold the same way Scrooge had described Magica, minus the evil sorceress part. It was the day of the explosion at Canard Tower, after they had bought the house and gone to dinner with Gosalyn.

"Glomgold?" Darkwing asked Scrooge now. "Why would he help them? Max and the Beagle Boys tried to rob him."

"Yeah," Launchpad said, "but Glomgold hates Mr. McD. If he had a chance to cost Mr. McD his fortune so he could be the richest duck in the world, he'd take it and never mind who he had to work with to do it."

"Right," Scrooge said. "Glomgold would happily back our enemies financially if he thought they had a chance to beat me. Considering their numbers this time, Glomgold would think it could be done."

"None of them have any idea you've got help from us and the Justice Ducks," Launchpad said, grinning.

"I'm sure Shush will help, too," Scrooge said.

Darkwing, Launchpad and Bushroot stared at him in shock.

"Did you honestly think I wouldn't know about Shush?" Scrooge asked. The question was directed mostly at Launchpad. He knew Scrooge much better than Darkwing or Bushroot. "I've done business with J Gander; I've even given them money. Besides," he said, looking only at Launchpad now, "I've been following your adventures with Darkwing. At first it was because-" He broke off, glancing sheepishly at Darkwing before turning back to Launchpad and continuing. "At first I thought Darkwing was a dangerous vigilante who might get you killed. I know how trusting you are and I wanted to be able to help if Darkwing got you into something you couldn't get out of. But it didn't take me long to realize you were a true hero," he said to Darkwing. "Together, you and Launchpad are a formidable team, and your team seems to be improving with each case."

Launchpad looked from Scrooge to Darkwing, smiling proudly. He wasn't offended that Scrooge had followed his career with Darkwing; he knew Mr. McD was his friend and would have helped him if he needed it. He also knew the general consensus about Darkwing and that Scrooge would have held the same views unless he had proof otherwise. Darkwing rubbed the brim of his fedora, leaning back in his chair as he smiled back at Launchpad. The two of them had been through a lot together since the day Darkwing had angrily told Launchpad he worked alone and turned his back on him.

"Well," Darkwing said, "let's get going. I want to introduce you to the rest of the Justice ducks. You can outline your plan on the way."

Darkwing knew the Four, but not the others. Launchpad and Scrooge were better equipped to plan against them, so he would listen to their suggestions, and maybe he would be able to add to or improve on them.

Gizmoduck strongly protested having to stay behind, but Darkwing was intensely satisfied to see Scrooge put his foot down. Gizmoduck didn't listen to many people; it was nice to see him in a position where he had to follow orders for a change. The "I go where I am needed" argument had absolutely no affect on Scrooge.

Webby and the boys, who had listened with interest to Launchpad's stories and the adults' conversation at lunch, were harder to convince, as Scrooge knew they would be. In the end, it proved impossible and the kids were given permission to come, as long as they did as they were told with no argument.

"They act a lot like Gosalyn," Darkwing said softly to Launchpad.

"Yeah," Launchpad said with an affectionate smile, "I think they'll be good friends."

As they headed for the Thunderquack, Darkwing wondered if a friendship between Gosalyn and four boys would be a good idea. He decided it would be OK. After all, Honker was Gosalyn's friend, and Launchpad had told Darkwing what good kids these boys were. They were well behaved, and Bubba was actually sweet, which surprised Darkwing considering the fact that Bubba was a cave duck from a million years ago. Even his dinosaur was good natured. But he couldn't come; the Thunderquack was too small. Darkwing knew Stegmutt would be disappointed that he wouldn't have the chance to meet Tootsie. For now, Darkwing decided, it would be fine for these boys to befriend his daughter. When the kids got older, then they'd have to see.

Bushroot smiled as Launchpad took off. The kids had taken an immediate liking to him and the feeling was mutual. He listened with genuine interest to the stories they told of their adventures with their uncle, and with Launchpad, who had become Bushroot's role model over the last few weeks. Bushroot considered it an honor to be a member of this team and to help against their opposition.


	4. Plans and Surprises

"This is Magica De Spell," Negaduck said back at the hideout. They had picked the abandoned Golf course that had been Goony Golf until Darkwing Duck had foiled Lilliput's plans. "She's our new fearsome Five member."

"A girl?" Quackerjack thought. He didn't dare say anything out loud, but his child's mind protested. He didn't think a girl could do nearly as good as a boy in fighting Darkwing. Ammonia Pine hadn't been able to do anything to him, and neither had Splatter Phoenix. Darkwing defeated the Five, too, but at least they were men. Quackerjack thought, like most little boys did, that boys were always better than girls and that girls were dumb.

"I've heard of you," Max said, sounding and looking impressed. "You picked a great choice, Negaduck! She could really give those good guys a run for their money."

Negaduck faked a smile of thanks. He knew Max was kissing up to both of them.

Magica's smile was not as fake. She knew Max was pretending, too, but the expression "a run for their money" tickled her. She was going to make Scrooge run for his dime; he would have to fight to get it back. Max couldn't have known it, but he'd just made a friend of Magica with that one phrase.

For his part, Max was thinking only that if he had a sorceress on his side, he could hurt Bushroot more than he thought, and he could also get Heather to obey him a lot easier. All he had to do was get this witch to cast a spell on her. Maybe he could even get her to cause Heather to punish Bushroot for him.

The other four members looked at her, sizing her up. A sorceress? They all thought of Morgana and grinned at each other. Now they had a chance against her. Quackerjack was still skeptical because Magica was a girl, but he knew that only a sorceress had a real chance of defeating another sorceress.

Ma Beagle and her sons were surprised, and Magica was angry to see them involved in this. Negaduck hadn't said a word about them.

"You have these goofs on your side?" she demanded of Negaduck.

"Now wait just a minute, witch!" Ma Beagle said, "My boys may be goofs, but they've fought McDuck probably almost as much as you have, if not more!"

Negaduck decided he'd better defuse this situation before it blew up in his face.

"There's safety in numbers," he said to both of them. "The more enemies Darkwing has to fight, the more distracted he'll be. Launchpad knows these guys." He indicated the Beagles. "He'll have no idea we've got you on our side, and he's afraid of Morgana, and she's a Justice Duck."

"Launchpad?" Magica and all the Beagles asked, surprised.

"Don't tell me he's teamed up with Darkwing!" Ma Beagle crowed.

"Yeah, about a year ago. You know him?"

"He used to be Scrooge's pilot," Bigtime said.

"This'll be easier than I thought, boys," Ma Beagle said happily to her sons.

"Don't be so sure," Negaduck said. "He's shown a lot more promise as a crime fighter than I ever thought he would since he's been with my do-gooder double. I've underestimated him before. It would be a mistake to do that again."

Magica and the Beagles looked at each other. They thought it was impossible. They knew Launchpad from Duckburg. It was true that he always came through for Scrooge, but none of them could believe he was smarter than they thought he was, and they didn't think much of him. Negaduck and his team members didn't think much of him either, but they'd had experience with him over the past year that Magica and the others either hadn't, or had forgotten. Launchpad and Darkwing complimented each other's abilities in ways the Five had not anticipated. Launchpad had played a big part in helping Bushy turn against them. Negaduck had thought that was impossible. He had a feeling that with Launchpad on Darkwing's side, things could get more complicated for the bad guys than the Beagles and Magica thought, or would be willing to consider. He hoped their prior experiences with Launchpad would not come back to bite all of them. Even Negaduck had to admit that Darkwing's sidekick was becoming as hard to beat as Darkwing the longer they were together.

"Where have you guys been?" Gosalyn asked. She'd gone to the tower, thinking her dad and Launchpad had gone there when she woke up and noticed they weren't at the house. "Hi, Bushroot." Then she noticed the new people with them. She recognized them immediately from Launchpad's photo album. "You went to Duckburg without me?" she asked angrily. Then she did a double take. Darkwing had brought Bushroot and Launchpad's old friends to the tower? What was going on here?

"It's a long story, Gos," Launchpad said before Gosalyn could ask. "Guys, this is Gosalyn. She's my friend Drake's daughter and DW's apprentice. She's gonna be a crime fighter, too, when she grows up."

Gosalyn didn't get offended at the implication that she wasn't already a crime fighter. She had helped her dad and Launchpad on countless cases, but she knew she was nowhere near ready to be considered a real crime fighter yet. Besides, telling the truth would risk giving away Darkwing's true identity.

"How does your father feel about that?" Scrooge asked.

Gosalyn wasn't sure how to answer that, so Darkwing stepped in.

"Oh, Drake knows I'd never let anything happen to Gos. Besides, she's got a mind of her own. She'd find a way to help me, with or without Drake's approval. He figures as long as I'm supervising her involvement and he knows where she is, it'll be OK. Drake knows I'd never let her do anything dangerous, and that I'll do everything I can to protect her. I love her like my own daughter."

If Gosalyn had been dressed as Quiverwing, they could have kept her identity a secret, but since she was dressed in her usual clothes, that was impossible.

Gosalyn took the kids on a tour of the tower. They were all fascinated by the room that she used as a kind of play room. Some of her sporting equipment and video games were kept there and the boys took an immediate liking to her when they realized she was interested in a lot of the same things they were. Even Webby was interested in some of these things now; she'd grown in the past year and was no longer thought of as the little tag along she once was.

Scrooge looked around the tower with fascination. Darkwing kept up with the state of the art crime fighting technology. Scrooge wondered how Darkwing could afford all this, but didn't ask. He didn't think he knew Darkwing well enough.

Darkwing contacted the rest of the Justice Ducks while Scrooge supervised the children's observation of the tower. He didn't want them breaking anything.

As they waited for the Justice Ducks, Darkwing listened to the conversations going on between Launchpad and the others, feeling as if he had missed a lot somehow. He remembered Launchpad talking about some of the things they were talking about now, such as going into space with the short-lived TV hero Major Courage, but he'd dismissed it as Launchpad trying to entertain Gosalyn. "Why would I think that?" he thought now. "I'm looking at the cave duck LP said he went back in time to meet. Why would I think the rest of his stories weren't true?"

Darkwing felt a twinge of guilt. It was his old pattern again of underestimating LP to make himself more important. Launchpad wouldn't lie; he knew that. He wasn't good at lying; his face and body language were an open book. Darkwing had never really had a reason to doubt his stories.

He had thought earlier that some of his bravery and confidence had rubbed off on Launchpad, as if LP hadn't been brave before. There had been times when Launchpad had shown a lack of confidence; a good example was when he was trying to learn the double reverse paddle drop boom boom kick. There were also times when LP was scared, but it was only natural. No one was fearless all the time. If Darkwing had been able to give LP courage and confidence, that was great, but he had been arrogant and unfair to assume that LP didn't already have those qualities. Darkwing hadn't given them to him; he'd just helped him bring them out more.

As Launchpad laughed and talked with the kids, he looked at Darkwing a few times and saw him frowning slightly. He wondered what DW was thinking. Part of him was wondering if DW might be feeling jealous of the adventures Launchpad had had with the kids and Mr. McD, but another part thought, more accurately, that Darkwing was feeling guilty about something. Launchpad knew DW was harder on himself at times than anyone else could be.

No one knew it yet, but there was more trouble coming for the heroes. The Fearsome Five and their new friends were completely unaware that they had two more allies. In Flintheart Glomgold's office, he was having a meeting with another enemy of Darkwing's. In fact, it was the villain's hero Negaduck wanted to meet.

"I've been following the recent developments concerning the Fearsome Five and the Beagle Boys, Mr. Bulba," Glomgold was saying. "I've been thinking they could be used to our advantage."

Taurus Bulba sat glaring at Glomgold, who sat calmly behind his desk. Bulba, sitting across from him, was completely unimpressed by Glomgold's failure to be intimidated by the cyborg. In fact, the steer was annoyed that he wasn't scaring this rich duck, who had managed to find him and have two of his goons bring him to his office by using Bulba's overheating circuits to their advantage. They had made him angry enough to overheat and then somehow managed to immobilize him long enough to get him to Glomgold's office.

"What do you mean?" Bulba demanded. "You and I have no common interests. I've never even met you before today and I have no use for you."

"But you could, and I do have a use for you. I'm willing to pay any price for your services."

"What services?"

"Your technological services, of course. There is another galvanized being, a super hero."

"I'm not a super-"

"No, I know, you're a super villain. But this super hero could use a challenge. He's been able to do too much good in Duckburg, and all for that scoundrel Scrooge McDuck!"

"What does this have to do with me?"

"I'll pay any price you ask for getting him out of the way. If you can eliminate Gizmoduck, then the Fearsome Five, the Beagle Boys and Magica De Spell can carry out their plans more easily. They'll be distracting Darkwing and his friends and you can have a chance at surprising Darkwing. The advantage to me is that if these villains succeed, Scrooge will lose his fortune, making me the richest duck in the world."

"You will be rich and I can get my revenge on Darkwing and that little girl."

"Exactly, so do we have a deal?"

Bulba couldn't pass up this chance. He'd been biding his time since the last battle with Darkwing. He had promised revenge and had just been waiting for the chance to exact it in the best way possible.

"I will do it for a million dollars. That should be enough to get me the accessories I can use to make sure I have a chance at killing both Darkwing and this Gizmoduck person, and still I can make a profit."

"You've got a deal," Glomgold said, pulling out his checkbook.

"But before I kill Darkwing," Bulba thought with an evil grin, "I'll make sure he watches what I do to Gosalyn."

Morgana was the first Justice Duck to arrive. She stared at Bushroot until Darkwing explained the situation. She looked at them both skeptically, but didn't challenge Bushroot. She fascinated Webby and the boys as much as Bushroot did. They were eager to see her do magic. But it was Stegmutt who captured Bubba's full attention. Tootsie could talk, kind of, but Stegmutt was fully articulate. This was only natural, since Stegmutt had been a duck before Dr. Fossil transformed him to a dinosaur.

Scrooge listened to Darkwing explaining their situation and the plans they had worked out so far to the Justice Ducks, feeling slightly guilty. He had a trick up his sleeve that even Darkwing and Launchpad didn't know about. He wondered if he should tell them.

"No," he thought. "If I tell them and one of them is captured it might be possible for the villains to make them talk. I think Launchpad already suspects part of it. If he knew for sure, it would risk putting him in more danger than we're all already in. I've got to do my part in keeping Magica and the others from succeeding and this secret is the best way I know to keep Magica's mischievous mitts off my fortune, and the most important ingredient to that accursed amulet of hers!"

"Just like before," Darkwing was saying, "we've got to divide and conquer. Fortunately this time we don't have to deal with the psychics, but Morgana's going to have to deal with their sorceress."

"Sorceress?" Morgana asked, having no reason to suspect the sorceress's identity. Her tone was curious, but unconcerned.

"Yes, and Mr. McDuck here has dealt with her before."

"Wait a minute," Neptunia said. "Where's Gizmoduck?"

"He's handling something for me in Duckburg," Scrooge said. "It has to do with this business, but he can play his part better in Duckburg than he can here."

The adults had no idea the kids were listening. Darkwing and Scrooge had ordered them to go back to 537 Avian Way. Of course, they would have to take the long way. No one could know about the spinning chairs and where they led. That would give Darkwing's identity away faster than anything.

"Don't worry,:" Gosalyn had whispered to them once they got outside. "I know this tower better than I know my own room. We can hide and listen, then find a way to help."

"But-" Webby began. She didn't want Uncle Scrooge to be mad at them.

"It's just like we do at home, Webby," Dewey said reasonably. We always find a way to help Uncle Scrooge."

"Yeah," Louie said. "He only thinks he doesn't need our help. Remember the Lost World?"

At Gosalyn's blank look, Huey explained that Scrooge and Launchpad had been captured by some cave ducks and the kids had had to help them escape.

Gosalyn found a hiding place for them and they listened to the grownups' plans, then quietly started adding to them and making plans of their own, building on what they'd heard Scrooge talking about with Launchpad and Darkwing in the Thunderquack on the way from Duckburg.

Morgana's face paled when Scrooge told her the sorceress's name. She hadn't seen her in years and thought she never would again.

"Did you say her name was Magica De Spell."

"Yeah, he did," Darkwing said, sounding concerned. "Morg, what's wrong? Do you know her?"

"You might say that," Morgana said weakly. "In fact, in some ways, I might know her better than anyone. She's my mother."


	5. Kidnapped

Everyone stared at her.

"She's your mother?" Darkwing asked.

"I didn't know Magica had a child," Scrooge said.

"My father found out shortly after I was born that Magica wanted to take over the world. He knows it would be wrong for any one person to force the world to fit his or her view of it. He found out how dangerous she could be. He saw her turn her own brother into a raven when he disobeyed her. He was afraid for me, so he took me and moved us to Saint Canard. He's been using magic to hide us from Magica ever since. She hasn't seen me since I was three months old." She looked at Scrooge; Darkwing and the others knew what she was about to say. "I was a criminal for a while, too. I turned to a life of crime because I wanted my mother to find out. I wanted to meet her, but my father didn't want me to have anything to do with her. He wouldn't tell me where she was or lift the spells. For all I know, Magica hasn't even tried to contact me, or she could have tried and not been able to find me because of the spells, or she's found me and my father has kept it from me. I thought the only way to get her attention was to become a criminal. It didn't work, but again, that might be because of my father's protective spells. Then I met Dark. I couldn't be a crook and have a relationship with him, too. He wanted me, and I wanted to be with him more than I wanted to impress a woman I don't even remember. I decided to be happy with Dark and forget about rebelling against my father. Although, he doesn't really approve of my associating with normals, so I guess in a way I'm still rebelling against him, but at least I'm not being self-destructive anymore. I resented him keeping me away from my mother and not letting me get to know her or even see her. He gave me no choice as a child and no helpful information about her when I became an adult and could make my own decisions, so I decided to meet her just to spite him. That was the main reason I wanted to meet her, but Magica means nothing to me now, and from what you've told me, Mr. McDuck, it looks like I made the right choice. I'm going to do whatever I can to make sure she never has a chance to take over the world."

Morgana looked around at everyone, afraid of what she might see. She had been a villain before and her mother was still evil. It had taken a long time for Dark to trust her. What if this changed his mind again?

She was relieved and gratified by what she saw. They all looked surprised, but sympathetic. There wasn't a hint of mistrust in any of their faces. She was surprised herself when she looked at Bushroot. He seemed to understand exactly what she was feeling.

Bushroot felt sympathetic towards Morgana. People had good reasons not to trust both of them. Bushroot didn't have villainous parents; he'd become a villain by his own choice. Morgana had an evil mother, but got away from the life of crime, as Bushroot was trying to do. He knew there were people who punished children for the crimes of their parents and was glad this would not be the case with Morgana.

"The good Morgana's done as a Justice Duck far outweighs the evil she did as a criminal," Darkwing said, putting his arm around Morgana. "It took me a long time to trust her, but now I trust her every bit as much as I trust Launchpad and the other Justice Ducks, Gizmoduck included. Morg was never as bad as Magica either. She never tried to take over the world; her worst crime was using magic sleep sand to take money and jewels from sleeping victims. She's helped save the city from the Fearsome Five at least twice since then, and she helped me defeat the guy who supplied her with the sleep sand when he tried to put Saint Canard to sleep forever. I have no reason to doubt her anymore."

Scrooge could tell that this speech was meant for him. He understood Darkwing's need to defend his girlfriend, but there was no need to defend her from Scrooge. He knew people could change; the kids had changed him from a greedy miser who only cared about money into a family man and friend who knew that one life was more important than any amount of money.

"But won't it bother yah?" Launchpad asked Morgana gently. "I mean, will you be OK fighting your own mother?"

:I have to," Morgana said, feeling a rush of affection and gratitude towards him for his concern. "I can't let her take over the world or she'll be more dangerous than all the villains any of us has ever dealt with put together. If saving the world means fighting Magica, I have no choice."

Max scowled as he spied on his wife and son. Elizabeth was there, too, and they were having New Years dinner. Elizabeth made a big deal of every holiday, no matter how minor. Max was glad Heather had taken her late father's views on holidays; Christmas, Thanksgiving and Easter were the big ones and the rest could slide. Halloween was important to Heather now, too, but that was because Marvin was a kid and could enjoy it and Heather could enjoy spending it with him. That was all right with Max; he felt the same way.

Max was furious that Heather had allowed this meddling witch to move into his house. He knew she was living there because he'd peaked in the upstairs windows and saw her things in the room they were going to use when Marvin got older and they had another baby. Marvin was going to be moved into that room and the room he was using now would be used for the new kid.

"I should be in there with Marvin and Heather," he thought fiercely, "not Elizabeth, and definitely not Bushroot. At least Heather didn't betray me that far. She won't have the chance either; he and Elizabeth are in for a nasty surprise. Next year it's going to be just the three of us. Elizabeth and Reggie are going to be cut from Heather's life like a couple of drumsticks off that turkey Heather's carving."

Heather wished she could shake the bad feeling she'd been having all day. Something was wrong; she sensed it. She just wished she knew what it was.

Elizabeth turned the radio on when Marvin started to fuss. He loved music. As Heather alternated between feeding Marvin and taking bites of her own food, Elizabeth talked about whatever happened to pop into her head. This was so much a part of her mother's personality that Heather could tune her out completely if she wanted. Today she found Elizabeth's idol talk soothing.

When Marvin was finished eating, Elizabeth took him upstairs to change him and put him down for the night. Heather would come up to kiss him good night when she was done eating.

The hourly news report came on as Heather finished her corn and mashed potatoes. She didn't have much turkey left and she still had her cranberry sauce, but the top story made her lose her appetite and she couldn't finish.

Max saw his opportunity when Elizabeth took Marvin upstairs. Heather was alone. He would take her now and come back for the kid later.

Heather picked up her drink and started to take a sip as the newscaster began his report.

"the Saint Canard Jail is short a few of its prisoners yet again," he said with amusement. "The Fearsome Five, correction, four, have escaped custody. How many times is that now? But they weren't alone this time. Another prisoner, Max Aubrey, has also escaped."

Heather dropped her glass of Koo-Koo cola before she could put it back on the table. Fortunately, she'd finished sipping before the reporter said Max's name, or she would have gone into a very bad coughing fit. The glass shattered and the soda made a medium-sized puddle at her feet.

"Aubrey was convicted of helping the Beagle Boys rob the second richest duck in the world, Flintheart Glomgold," the newscaster continued.

Heather barely heard him. This was why she'd been feeling so apprehensive all day. Max was free? What did this mean for her and Marvin?

"Hello, Heather," a familiar voice said coldly from behind her. She'd been so shocked that she hadn't noticed the cold when the door had opened. She jumped and Max's hand clamped firmly over her mouth.

"Don't you dare make a sound," he said sharply in a stage whisper. "I have two friends outside who will make your mother pay if you defy me."

Defy him? Had Max gone insane? What was he talking about?

"You're coming with me," Max continued when Heather let him know by her silence that she'd cooperate. "Don't put up a fight and don't try to call for help. If you do, Megavolt and Liquidator will give your interfering mother a very hands-on science lesson. Don't worry about Marvin; I'll be back for him."

He used his free hand to put a folded piece of paper on the table beside the remains of the turkey, then grabbed Heather and picked her up.

"He's so strong," Heather thought as he dragged her out the door and closed it silently behind him. Her panic paralyzed her. Even without the threat of Elizabeth or Marvin being hurt, she was too scared to fight.

"OK, guys," Max called softly, "I've got her. Let's get back to the hideout." Then he lowered his head and whispered threateningly into Heather's ear. His hot breath was terrible. He had apparently not been keeping up with his dental hygiene. "Remember what they can do. "You're gonna do exactly as I say, without argument, without question. Otherwise they'll come back here and take care of your mother for me. Actually," he added as an afterthought, "if you do make them come back here they can pick up Marvin for me so I won't have to make two trips. Getting rid of Elizabeth and picking up Marvin will be killing two birds with one stone. Now, are you gonna be a good girl and do as you're told?"

Heather nodded against his hand. It was getting hard to breathe with his hand over her mouth and it was intensifying her terror. For now, until she could find a way to escape, she would do as he said. She would do anything to protect her family.

Megavolt and Liquidator came out from behind the Maple tree beside Marvin's bedroom window. Heather watched the electrified rat and liquefied dog from the night of the psychic war flank Max on either side as they went to a small car they had stolen. Max put Heather on the floor in the back, bound her hands and feet, then gagged her. He wasn't taking any chances. As they pulled out of the driveway, Heather wondered if she would ever see Marvin or Elizabeth again.

Max grinned as he turned off Redwing Road. Things were going better than he could have hoped. The radiator was acting up and needed water, so Liquidator was taking care of that. Megavolt sat in the back seat to keep an eye on Heather, leaving Max free to concentrate on his driving. He loved to go fast, but he knew that would draw unwanted attention, so he had to fight hard to remember the traffic laws and obey them as closely as he could. He thought it was a streak of good luck that things had gone so well. Megavolt and Liquidator together were a power to be reckoned with. The threat of that would keep Heather compliant, and without Liquidator, the truck would be overheating faster than Taurus Bulba during a temper tantrum. Max's grin widened at that thought. He would like to have met Bulba and teamed up with him. He had no idea as he drove towards the former Goony Golf Course of the one major flaw in his plan to get revenge on Bushroot. For the moment, he thought he had everything completely under his control.

"Heather?" Elizabeth called from the top of the stairs. She thought she'd heard a glass break. "Did you drop something, Honey? Are you all right? You didn't cut yourself, did you?"

There was no answer. She started down the stairs, feeling concerned. Heather had been very nervous all day and couldn't explain why.

"Little Marvin is so cute," she said as she walked towards the kitchen. "I changed his diaper and he fell asleep almost as soon as-"

She broke off when she got to the kitchen doorway. There was a broken glass and a puddle of spilled Koo-Koo cola on the floor by Heather's chair. Heather's plate was almost empty, except for a few bites of turkey and all of her cranberry sauce. That was unusual; Heather loved cranberry sauce. Heather was gone and there was a folded paper by the rest of the turkey. Why would Heather leave so suddenly, and without finishing her dinner or clearing the table?

Elizabeth avoided the glass and soda and went to the table. She picked up the note, thinking it was from Heather. Maybe she'd gone to the store for something. She must have wanted it badly, whatever it was, if she left without finishing her food and leaving a broken glass and spilled drink on the floor. Heather was usually so careful about things like that. She knew someone could slip or get cut.

Elizabeth new almost before she read the note that something was very wrong. Heather would have called her from the bottom of the stairs and told her if she was going somewhere, and she would never leave a mess like this.

"Wait a minute," Elizabeth thought when she unfolded the note. "This isn't Heather's handwriting. What's going on here?"

She read the note, then made a hysterical call to the police.

Charlie Shepherd and Angora Calico were the cops assigned to the call. They went to Elizabeth's house, took her statement and collected the evidence. The note was contaminated because she had touched it, but they knew she'd had no reason to think it wasn't from her daughter. Besides, they were sure they could still get the information they needed; all they had to do was make sure they didn't mistake Mrs. Fern's prints for the kidnapper's. They took her fingerprints before making their next stop.

Launchpad and Bushroot went to pick up dinner for everyone. To Launchpad's great surprise, Scrooge paid for everything. They got back to Darkwing Tower about five minutes before Charlie and Angora showed up. They were the only two cops who knew where Darkwing's hideout was, which was a mark of how much Darkwing trusted them.

"Hi," Darkwing said, surprised. "What's up? Have you got some information that will help me catch the Fearsome Four and their criminal cohorts?"

"No," Annie said gravely, "I'm afraid we've come for something much less pleasant."

She looked at Launchpad and felt a pang of sympathy. He had really believed this could work.

Charlie looked around the room, then took out his handcuffs and approached Bushroot.

"Wait a minute," Darkwing said. "What's going on?"

"Reginald Bushroot," Charlie said in his official cop voice. His tough New York accent made him sound somehow more cop-like when he was doing what he was about to do. "You're under arrest for the kidnapping of Heather Aubrey."


	6. A Flower in a Field of Weeds

"What?" Darkwing, Launchpad and Bushroot asked.

"We have proof," Annie said. "I'm sorry, Launchpad. I know you believed Bushroot was-"

"Annie, wait a minute," Darkwing said. "When did this kidnapping take place?"

"About an hour ago," Charlie said. "He snatched her from the dinner table. He left a note for her mother telling her to do exactly as he said or he'd hurt Heather."

"What did he say to do?" Darkwing asked.

Bushroot felt hurt. Darkwing believed him? How could he? Did he think he'd somehow slipped away from Launchpad at Hamburger Hippo?

Launchpad knew better because he knew DW better. His eye brows were raised, which meant DW didn't believe what he was hearing. Launchpad could tell Bushroot thought it meant Darkwing couldn't believe Bushroot had managed to fool them. He tried to tell Bushroot with his eyes that this wasn't the case, that Darkwing knew Bushroot was innocent and was incredulous that the cops would arrest him on such circumstantial evidence. If Launchpad knew DW, and he did, the Mask Mallard was thinking something like "this is just like the Saint Canard Police Department." Annie and Charlie were friends, but even they had their moments.

Bushroot saw Launchpad looking at him, but didn't understand the look. He knew that it was meant to be comforting, though, and tried to smile at him.

"It said he would come back with further instructions," Annie said.

"But it wasn't me!" Bushroot pleaded, looking directly at Darkwing, who smiled at him. Bushroot smiled back weakly. His feelings were conflicted for the first time in weeks. He was worried about Heather and wanted to find the real kidnapper. He was relieved that he'd been wrong about Darkwing's thoughts and hadn't lost the hero's trust. He was furious because he knew Max had to be the one who had kidnapped Heather. It was only Launchpad's and Darkwing's newly established trust in him that kept him from using vines to tie everyone up and going off in a headlong rush to find Max and making him pay for taking Heather.

"I would never hurt Heather!" he said, looking from Darkwing to the cops.

"It couldn't have been him," Launchpad said. "Bushroot's been with us since this morning. He's never left our sight. I just took him with me to Hamburger Hippo to get dinner for everyone; he wasn't thirty feet away from me the whole time."

"Let me see the note, Charlie," Darkwing said calmly.

Charlie handed him the clear plastic evidence bag containing the note. Darkwing looked at it without removing it from the bag; he didn't want to taint the evidence. Then he asked if anyone had a piece of paper. Scrooge handed him a pad. Darkwing handed it to Bushroot and told him to write his name.

"Um, I can't right now," Bushroot said, looking down at the handcuffs Charlie had put on him after telling him he was under arrest.

"You can let him go, Charlie," Darkwing said.

"Darkwing," Annie said sharply, "he's a suspect!"

"He's innocent!" Launchpad insisted. Sometimes Annie frustrated him. "Besides, even if he was guilty, with all of us here he couldn't get away; one of us would stop him."

"LP's right," Darkwing said, "and even if he did manage to get away, he's still wearing the ankle bracelet. You'd have no trouble tracking him."

Charlie released Bushroot, but kept the cuffs handy.

Bushroot took the pad from Darkwing and wrote his name. It was obvious, even to someone who was not a handwriting expert, that the two signatures couldn't possibly have come from the same person. Charlie put the cuffs away.

"It's gotta be Max," Bushroot said. "He didn't really want to divorce Heather. He only did because I scared him into it. I figured it was the only way I could help her."

"Aubrey," Charlie said thoughtfully. "She was married to Max Aubrey?"

"Yeah, I was his cell mate the night you arrested me and the others."

"How do you know Heather?" Annie asked. "I mean, we saw her the night of the psychic war, but there was so much going on that she didn't really seem like a big part of it."

"Well, she wasn't exactly."

"Wait," Charlie said, scratching his head. "Didn't Negaduck say something about psychically orchestrating your friendship with Heather?"

"Yeah," Bushroot said, relieved that the cops seemed to believe him now, "he and Liquidator. They knew I wanted to be good and Negaduck wanted to make Heather be my friend, then wreck the friendship so I'd stay evil."

"That sounds like Negaduck," Darkwing said.

"Psychological warfare," Launchpad agreed, referring to a conversation he'd had with Darkwing a few weeks ago.

Scrooge watched and listened, not wanting to get in the way. He had a feeling he'd come off as nosy at least twice today to people who didn't know him. After all, he had been following Launchpad's career as Darkwing's sidekick. He had also asked without thinking about how Gosalyn's father felt about her being Darkwing's apprentice. He had asked out of concern, not nosiness. He wouldn't like the idea of Webby or the boys putting themselves in danger from villains like the Fearsome Five. "Fearsome Four," he corrected himself mentally. He just couldn't consider Magica a true member of the Fearsome Five. He didn't think that would last long, with or without outside interference from the good guys. Magica was just too used to getting her own way to work with others for long.

Scrooge saw the subtle changes that had taken place in Launchpad since he'd left Duckburg. He was still the same loveable duck he'd always been, but there was something else, too. Scrooge saw more confidence, a strength that had probably always been there, but had not been noticed by Scrooge before because of his need to paint Launchpad as an incompetent moron in order to justify making him work so cheaply. But there was also a nervousness about him, an anxiety that Scrooge didn't understand. He wondered if maybe it had something to do with being Darkwing's sidekick. Gizmoduck said Darkwing had a big ego; maybe it was part of Launchpad's job to keep Darkwing's confidence level up. In some cases, confidence elevated ego. Maybe he was afraid of failing Darkwing in some way. He seemed to defer to Darkwing on most matters concerning crime fighting. Scrooge supposed that was only natural, since Darkwing was his boss. But he was pleased to see that Launchpad still took the initiative when he needed to, like just now when he'd needed to defend Bushroot to the cops.

In spite of the traces of nervousness and anxiety, Scrooge thought Launchpad seemed happier in Saint Canard. Darkwing obviously respected him. Scrooge felt a rush of shame for the way he'd treated Launchpad when he worked for him. He had apologized the day he had left, but seeing the interaction between Launchpad and Darkwing made him feel guilty all over again. Considering the abuse Scrooge had, consciously or unconsciously, heaped on him, he thought Launchpad had made the right decision leaving Duckburg to work for someone who would treat him with respect and true friendship.

"Let's dust the note for fingerprints," Darkwing said. "I've got the kit."

"I don't know if we should do that here," Annie said. "Maybe we should take it back to the crime lab."

"We've got our own crime lab right here," Darkwing said, annoyed.

"We don't have to tell anyone," Charlie said. Of the two of them, he was always the one willing to breach protocol. He knew Darkwing had a much better chance of beating these guys than the cops did and wanted to help any way he could. "It'll speed things up a little and make it quicker and easier to get Heather back to her kid."

Annie didn't argue anymore. She wanted to help Darkwing catch these creeps as much as Charlie did. She knew that going against procedure was necessary sometimes, but it made her nervous, especially with the super villains involved. Most of the cops, including their superiors, didn't like or respect Darkwing. Some of them even thought the presence of the super villains in Saint Canard was somehow Darkwing's fault. Annie was always afraid their involvement with Darkwing would get them into trouble someday. But he was their friend and he was also more capable of defeating the super villains than the cops were because he could operate outside the by-the-book rules of the police department. Annie thought secretly that sometimes it was better to be a vigilante than a cop.

Darkwing dusted the note, then brought both Max's and Bushroot's fingerprints up on his computer.

"These are definitely Max's," he said, pointing to a set of prints on the note, "but whose are these?"

He pointed to the other set of prints on the note.

"They're probably Mrs. Fern's," Charlie said. "She thought the note was from Heather, so she had no reason to be careful. I mean, you come down from putting your grandson to bed and find your daughter gone, you expect her to have left a note, right?"

"Yeah," Darkwing agreed, "she had no idea it would be evidence of her daughter's kidnapping."

"Poor Mrs. Fern must be worried out of her mind," Darkwing thought. "I know how I'd feel if it was Gosalyn. I'm glad she's back at the house with McDuck's kids."

None of the adults knew the kids were safely hidden, watching and listening to everything.

Darkwing brought Mrs. Fern's prints up on the computer and confirmed that they were a match. Then he and the others explained the situation with Magica and the Five. Now that there had been a kidnapping, the involvement of the police was a necessity. Charlie and Annie went to update Mrs. Fern while Darkwing and the others finished and modified preparations for the upcoming confrontation with the villains.

"You knobs!" Negaduck said furiously to Max, Liquidator and Megavolt. "We don't have enough to do? You had to kidnap someone? Now we have to have someone keep an eye on her!"

"She'll make a good hostage," Max said. "She's my wife. Actually, we're divorced, but she's going to marry me again when this is over. Whether she likes it or not," he said, glaring at Heather, "she's mine for life. Bushroot forced me to give her the divorce she wanted, but I've taken care of him, too."

"What do you mean?" Negaduck asked suspiciously. "How did you take care of him?"

Heather's fear intensified, and she hadn't thought that was possible. Had Max killed Reggie? He was a crook, but he didn't deserve to die. If he was dead, it was Heather's fault for bringing Max into his life in the first place.

"I framed him for Heather's kidnapping," Max said. Heather was relieved. At least he was still alive. If he was with Darkwing, he would find a way to clear Reggie of the kidnapping charge. If Reggie really was trying to be good, she hoped this wouldn't ruin things for him. "I left a note for her mother and signed his name."

Negaduck was torn between anger, amusement and satisfaction. He wanted to be the one to take care of Bushroot for betraying him, so he was satisfied by the knowledge that Max's plan to frame Bushroot would fail miserably. He was amused by Max's stupidity; the flaw in his plan had obviously never occurred to him. But he was still angry that now they had someone else to worry about. Heather could only get in the way. It infuriated him also that Max was right about the possibility of Heather being a good hostage, a bargaining chip to use against the good guys. He knew Darkwing would come looking for him and the others sooner or later.

There was another problem, too, as if Negaduck didn't have enough problems already trying to control these guys, plus Max, plus the Beagle Boys, plus Magica. The three idiots had thought to bind and gag Heather, but not to blindfold her. She knew exactly where they were and could lead the cops, or Darkwing, right to them if she somehow managed to escape. This meant they were going to have to assign someone to watch her every second.

"It won't work," he told Max in a gloating tone. "Bushroot is closely guarded. He's wearing an ankle bracelet and he can't go anywhere without Launchpad or my do-gooder double. The cops will know it wasn't him. They may be clueless, but even they can spot a setup eventually, especially when the one being set up has an alibi."

Max wanted to beat Heather for getting him into this. If she'd done what she was told and stopped fighting for the divorce, and if she'd stayed away from Bushroot in the first place, he wouldn't have had to kidnap her and they would be home with Marvin watching TV now. Fortunately for Heather, Max would never go so far as to physically abuse her. He didn't believe in hitting women and children. He preferred to control people emotionally and psychologically. He even only hit men if it was absolutely necessary. He didn't like the sight of blood. Besides, he never knew when and if someone would decide to fight back. He liked the sight of his own blood even less than he liked the sight of someone else's.

At Negaduck's speech, Heather was glad to see Max's confidence evaporate. He knew he was in trouble now.

"But I've gotta do something," Bushroot pleaded with Darkwing. He wanted to leave right away and find and rescue Heather. "It's partly my fault she's in this mess!"

"No it isn't," Launchpad said, putting his hand on Bushroot's shoulder. "How were you supposed to know he'd escape and kidnap her?"

"I forced him to divorce her!" Bushroot insisted.

"Max is responsible for his own choices, Lad," Scrooge said gently. "I'm sure he had his own reasons for agreeing to the divorce."

"But I-"

"You helped your friend," Darkwing said. "Legally she's free, thanks to you, and we're gonna help make sure she gets away physically, too. Don't worry, Bushroot; we'll all do our part to make sure Heather's rescued. But we have to take care of the rest of it, too. Heather is top priority, but she's not the only priority. We have to make sure all the villains are captured. To do that, we have to follow the plan. Heather's kidnapping changes very little."

"She's afraid of him," Bushroot said softly. "She said he'd never physically hurt her, but that she didn't know how long it would be before he did. She said he didn't show his true colors until the robbery that landed him in jail. Then he was like a total stranger. He used every emotional and psychological trick he could to keep Heather tied to him. Even if he wouldn't physically hurt her, he's got friends who would if he asked them to; he told her that during one of their last phone conversations before we met. I don't know if that was true then, but it's definitely true now. " His tone turned pleading again, desperate. "Darkwing, she's surrounded by villains now! She's a flower in a field of weeds and to her Max is the most overgrown weed of all of them! He's also dangerous. If he asks, Megavolt and Liquidator-" He couldn't finish. The memory of what had happened to Harvey still hurt, and it made him feel sick when the image of Harvey was replaced in his mind with one of Heather. He would rather trade places with her than have that happen to her.

"He won't do that," Darkwing said. "He might threaten her, but he knows it would be smarter not to hurt her. As long as she's safe, he's got leverage on her mother."

"OK," Bushroot said sadly. "I'll follow the plan. But can I be the one to separate Max from the others?"

"You and Launchpad," Darkwing said firmly. He wasn't worried that Bushroot would try to escape, but that he would lose his temper with Max and do something that would land him right back in the same cell with Max and the other villains. Darkwing understood the temptation; he would feel the same way if someone kidnapped someone he cared about. That had happened frequently, but so far Darkwing had managed to keep his head. If Gosalyn, Launchpad or Morgana were ever seriously hurt or worse by a kidnapper, Darkwing wouldn't be responsible for his actions. But Bushroot had made a lot of progress in a short amount of time and Darkwing didn't want him to ruin it for himself.

"Me and Launchpad," Bushroot agreed gratefully. He knew what Darkwing knew; Launchpad's presence would be the thing that would keep Bushroot from backsliding. He didn't want to betray Launchpad's trust, or Darkwing's either. If Launchpad was with him, Bushroot would follow his lead and not his own potentially evil impulses.

As she cleaned up the remains of their dinner, and the mess left by Heather's spilled drink, Elizabeth kept the radio on. She was hoping Heather's kidnapping would make the news. She thought that if Bushroot knew people were looking for him, he'd lose his nerve and send Heather back to her. When the news of Max's escape with the Fearsome Four was repeated, Elizabeth felt even more scared. As if Heather didn't have enough to worry about, now Max was free, too!

Shortly after the hourly news report, there was a knock at the door. Elizabeth opened it to find Charlie and Annie standing on her front step.

"Oh, thank goodness," she said. "Have you found my daughter? Where is she? Is she-"

"We haven't found your daughter, Mam," Charlie said, trying to sound soothing, "but we know Reggie Bushroot isn't the one who kidnapped her."

"But the note-" Elizabeth began.

"The note wasn't from him; it was from Max Aubrey. His fingerprints, as well as yours, were on the note. We know yours were there because you thought it was from Heather and picked it up. Bushroot wrote his name for us and his and Max's handwriting could never match. We brought all the prints up on the computer and Max's and yours were the only ones on the note. Besides that, we have several witnesses who can place Bushroot at Hamburger Hippo at the time your daughter was taken."

"Max! I just heard about his escape! What if he comes back for Marvin?"

"Don't worry," Annie said. "We'll make sure both you and Marvin are safe."

"Yes, Mam," Charlie said. "We'll stay with you personally. Annie, why don't you go fill in our- associates- so we can protect Mrs. Fern and her grandson?"

Annie hid her grin at the word "associates." Charlie meant Launchpad and Darkwing.

"No problem," Darkwing said to Annie over the communicator. "Bushroot's worried about Heather and wants to find her. We're pretty sure she's wherever the bad guys are hiding. We're going to pick up their trail by having him talk to the plants. We've also got the homing device I put on Negaduck. Can you two stay there and protect Mrs. Fern and the baby without getting in trouble with your superiors?"

"We're off duty in about an hour, so we can protect them unofficially." The problem is what to tell the bosses about the current situation. They won't like you being involved."

"Tell them what you know about the case and show them the proof. They'll do what they have to do and we'll do what we have to do."

The kids were still listening from their hiding place. Things were getting more complicated, which of course to them meant they were getting more interesting. They had already decided unanimously that if they were going to help, they had to do it behind the scenes. Darkwing and Scrooge had insisted they stay at the house. They would be in trouble if they were found out.

Gosalyn took the kids back to the house for a while so they could make the necessary adjustments to the plans they had worked out. If Officers Shepherd and Calico could help secretly, there was no reason the kids couldn't do the same. "No way," Gosalyn thought. "Dad is not leaving us out of this action!"

Taurus Bulba found the Goony Golf course easily. He knew it was a very logical hideout. He listened intently to the villains' plans and made a snap decision. It was time for him to make them his allies. After all, there was safety in numbers.


	7. Hidden Agendas

"Is no problem, Dallink," Magica said when Negaduck fumed to her about Max, Megavolt and Liquidator kidnapping Heather. "I can use magic spell to bind her. She vill not be escapink."

"Good," Negaduck said. "We don't want her spilling to Darkwing or the cops where we are."

"Darkwing Duck has been a thorn in my side for far too long," a gravelly, accented, sinister voice said from the doorway of what used to be Lilliput's office when this had been Goony Golf and he had needed to look busy.

Negaduck and Magica jumped. They looked over and Negaduck's mouth fell open. Magica looked suspiciously at Bulba, then back at Negaduck.

"Negsy, Dallink, close your mouth," she said, amused. "You vill catch flies."

Normally Negaduck hated being called names like Negsy, but he was surprised to find that he didn't mind if it was Magica using the taunting diminutives. Somehow she made them seem natural. He liked this woman; she was as evil in her own way as he was. He was beginning to rethink the idea of ditching her at the first opportunity to replace her with someone better. He was beginning to think the two of them could make beautiful music together. "The beautiful music of death and destruction," he thought happily, and had to suppress the urge to let out his trademark evil lunatic laugh.

"I have come to make a deal with you, Negaduck," Bulba continued, coming into the room and approaching them.

Negaduck stared. Taurus Bulba had come looking for him? He forced himself to look away and get his expression back under control. He wasn't going to have Bulba thinking he was impressed; that just wasn't villainous.

"What kind of deal?"

"I will help you take over the city and let you have complete control over it if you let me be the one to kill Darkwing Duck and that troublesome little girl."

"What about the Justice Ducks?"

"I am the only one who is a match for Morgana," Magica said. "The rest of you do not have magic."

"You managed to capture them once before and almost disposed of them," Bulba said to Negaduck. "With the help of your friend here, it should be easier to keep them this time." He indicated Magica, putting a sarcastic emphasis on the word "friend."

Bulba had no intention of letting Negaduck retain control over the city and Negaduck knew it. Bulba just wouldn't be a proper villain if he kept his word. But he would go along for now. Maybe once this was over and the good guys were permanently out of the way, he would be able to convince Bulba to become a member of the Fearsome Five. It would mean giving up his leadership, but Taurus Bulba was the only person in the world that Negaduck would ever consider following. If Bulba was their leader, maybe he would still let Negaduck do whatever he wanted to Saint Canard. He had visions of being Bulba's right hand man. If anything ever happened to Bulba, Negaduck would get his position back as leader. He completely forgot about rethinking Magica's eventual replacement, in typical villain fashion, in favor of his fantasies of him and Bulba bringing the city to its knees.

He had done some research and learned that Bulba had managed to injure Darkwing at least once. He had almost gotten himself killed in the process, but almost didn't count, so that minor detail didn't matter. Negaduck knew Darkwing had been in a wheelchair the second time he fought Bulba, but he didn't know why. For all he knew, Bulba could have caused that, too. He had complete confidence that if Bulba could injure Darkwing twice, he could definitely kill him, and he would only have to do that once. Even Darkwing couldn't come back from the dead.

"Deal," Negaduck said. "Pleasure to do business with you, Bulba. I've wanted to meet you for a long time."

He stopped, noticing the strange look Bulba was giving him and becoming aware of the fact that he was on the verge of gushing like a star-struck teenager.

Bulba knew what Negaduck meant and was intrigued. "He looks up to me," he thought. "If all goes well, I can make him my apprentice." An idea hit him like a ton of bricks. "If he's my apprentice in crime, once I kill Darkwing I can also kill his reputation as a hero. Negaduck is Darkwing's double. No one can know Darkwing is dead, or I could be found out. Negaduck's criminal activities will be the perfect cover, the perfect way to keep Darkwing's death a secret and ruin his do-gooder's reputation at the same time."

Magica looked on with interest as the two villains exchanged evil grins.

Negaduck and Magica seemed to click almost instantly. Magica was as surprised by this as Negaduck, especially considering the difference in their ages; Magica was much older. Negaduck had told her he respected and admired this criminal cyborg. She'd never heard of Taurus Bulba, or if she had she'd dismissed him as insignificant. Neither of the men knew it, but they would both be insignificant wants Magica got Scrooge's dime. They could fight over Saint Canard when Magica took over the world. Maybe she'd leave it alone, or maybe she'd decide to wipe out Taurus Bulba so Negaduck could have the city. She paused, then decided that if Negaduck made her angry she would wipe him off the map along with this bionic bull and this unimportant little city. But the first thing she was going to do was vaporize Duckburg, and Scrooge McDuck and his family and friends with it. In a few hours, life was going to be very different. "Very good for me," Magica thought, "but very bad for everyone else."

Megavolt smiled as he completed the finishing touches to the device he'd just created. "It's no tronsplitter," he said to himself with a laugh in his voice, "but it'll do for what I have in mind." He rubbed his hands together happily. He had heard Max talking to himself one day in jail and saying that Heather would have nothing to do with Bushroot if he was just an ordinary duck. Max seemed to think it was Bushroot's plant side that interested Heather. Negaduck had turned to Megavolt and said that taking Bushroot's plant side away would be the perfect way to get revenge on him for betraying the team. He had said "the team" but he'd been talking about himself. He didn't care that Bushroot was not a Fearsome Five member anymore, but by leaving the team he had betrayed Negaduck. He had gone against Negaduck's plans and would help Darkwing try to stop him. Megavolt knew Negaduck would never let him get away with that without a fight. Megavolt was content to see anyone squirm, so he would gladly help Negaduck mess up Bushy's life for the simple pleasure of watching the soon to be former plant duck's reaction.

The idea had struck him like lightning. He brought it up to Negaduck, who grinned evilly and ordered him to build the machine.

He called it a molecular extraction device, or med for short. The idea was based on his tronsplitter. It had two switches, one to merge molecules between two living things, or take molecules away from one living thing. The other was to be used on inanimate objects. Both switches had three positions; forward, reverse and neutral, and were shaped like tiny gear shifts on cars. Pushing the switch forward would take the molecules away. Reversing it would merge molecules. He had built it using old parts from copy machines and other equipment he'd found around the golf course. The machine was black, with one red switch and one green. The green was for living things, the red was for inanimate objects. The med was the shape and size of a small Polaroid camera,, but lazar beams came out of the other end instead of pictures. All Megavolt had to do was look through the lens and throw the switch. He hadn't tested it yet on anything, or anyone. He'd been spending hours trying to complete the thing. Negaduck wanted it as soon as possible.

Megavolt rubbed his hands together again. "I can't wait to test you out!" he cried happily to the machine.

Megavolt was struck by a sudden thought. Why should he do this for what Negaduck wanted. He would because it would be fun, but why should he stop there? Why not use it against Negaduck? "I'll make him pay for making me work so hard and then taking all the prophets for himself." He laughed maniacally. "Not only that! Even better! I can zap anyone who calls me Sparky!"

He decided to test the device first. He didn't want any unexpected surprises if he could help it. He'd had too many of those, and never mind the fact that he didn't remember most of them. He didn't want anymore unforeseen circumstances not to remember. His entire life since he'd been stuck to that treadmill had been one long set of unforeseen circumstances and he'd forgotten more than he ever knew about most of his failed schemes. The only constant in all of them had been Darkwing.

"That's perfect!" he screamed. "Once I test this and it works, and I've taken care of Bushy and Negs, I can take care of Darkwing, too! He's always short circuiting my ingenious plots! I wonder how he'd like being joined with something not living. I always have to carry around this battery and plug. I wonder how Darkwing would like that gas gun of his always being a part of him, never being able to get rid of it. I wonder how he'd like having my hair style!" He paused, thinking about how he could make Darkwing's feathers poofy like Megavolt's hair, but still merge him with his own gas gun; maybe he could make the gas gun part of his head, the way Megavolt's plug was part of his. "I will have my revenge!"

Ma Beagle quietly brought her boys into a huddle outside the hideout where she could be fairly sure no one would overhear them.

"It occurs to me, boys, that we don't have to stick to Duckburg anymore. The cops are all over there, looking for us, watching for any crime to pin on us."

"Yeah," Baggy said, "and they're usually right and we always end up in the slammer."

"I don't think that'll happen here. Even if it does, it shouldn't be too hard to get out. These goofs did, and they're all brainless."

"I don't know, Ma," Beebop said, "that Negaduck guy seems pretty with it."

"Maybe, but the point is the cops are definitely not with it. How else could all five of these guys escape the Saint Canard prison? Somebody had to be asleep on the job."

"And this ain't the first time either," Bigtime said. "That guy in the clown suit said he's lost count of how many times he's escaped from jail, with or without his buddies."

"Think of all the banks we could rob," Baby Face said.

"Exactly," Ma laughed. "That's just what I was thinking. Why go back to Duckburg when we have this place! Dumb cops, dumb vigilantes, we can't lose! Even if we get caught we can escape soon and go right back to robbing banks and other stores! We can take the whole city!"

"I don't know, Ma," Baby Face said doubtfully, "that Darkwing Duck character and his friends-"

"Look who Darkwing works with! He can't be all that bright if he chose him!"

Ma Beagle refused to accept the fact that Launchpad could help Darkwing effectively. She was convinced that he was brainless. If Darkwing chose someone like him, the rest of his friends couldn't be any brighter. She had also heard that Gizmoduck had worked with Darkwing. Gizmoduck wasn't all that bright either; she believed it had usually only been luck that had made it so easy for him to beat them before. "Well," she thought, "luck and the fact that my good for nothing sons aren't smart enough to beat him. But that won't matter soon. Our new friends are gonna take care of all the good guys in the city and everything in it will be ours!"

"We'll help these guys for now," she said to her sons, "but as soon as we don't need them anymore we'll frame them for crimes we commit and then take over the city. The cops are too dumb not to believe they did it. After all, they're the ones who usually do commit most of the crimes in Saint Canard. Once they're out of the way, we can take out the cops and then take over Saint Canard!"

"Yah think we can do it?" Burger asked with his mouth full of Hippo Burger.

"Why not?" Bigtime asked.

"Negaduck won't like it," Bouncer said.

"Who cares?" Ma asked impatiently. "Negaduck won't have a choice once we give him and his buddies what for!"

"Yeah," Bankjob said, "we'll crush them like a peanut on a railroad track."

"Oh boy!" Burger cried, swallowing the last of his Hippo Burger and reaching for the fries. "You got peanuts, Bankjob? Can I have some?"

Ma glared at him.

"Put your heads together, boys; we got plans to make."

They all leaned closer to her, and to each other, bumping heads. Ma glared around at all of them with a frustrated sigh. She didn't care how tough she had to get; her boys were not gonna mess this up for her. She swore on her favorite Chocolate Chainsaw Surprise recipe that Saint Canard would be theirs before the end of the week. She had never had the chance to rob an entire city before and she wasn't about to pass it up. "First Saint Canard," she thought happily, "then Scrooge's money bin! By the time I'm done with the city, I'll have scared enough people into helping me get into the bin that even Gizmoduck won't be able to keep all of us out! Scrooge will be penniless before yah can say getaway!

She smiled at her boys, thinking about the look Scrooge would have on his face when she finally got her hands on all that money he'd worked so hard for. She pushed away the image so she could concentrate, then outlined her plan.

Glomgold smiled as he listened and watched Negaduck accept Bulba's offer. Glomgold had known he would. He had Bulba bugged so he couldn't double cross him. Bulba probably knew it, but Glomgold had done it anyway. He and Bulba understood each other. They were both proper villains, as was Negaduck. There would be attempts at double crossing on all sides, but Glomgold was determined to make sure he would be the one to do the double crossing, not the others. He would not be betrayed. Bushroot had already crossed Negaduck. Glomgold thought Negaduck would have learned from that, but he didn't think so now. Negaduck had barely put up a fight before accepting Bulba's offer of alliance. Glomgold planned to eventually get rid of both of them, and Magica, if possible. But for now he needed all of them. He was going to let them do what they wanted because it would serve his purposes, but then he had been planning to hire all these villains to help him get his hands on Scrooge's money. He knew now that the Beagles were planning the same thing. "Fine then," he thought, "let them do it. Once they have the money I can take it from them. Even better, I won't have to pay them to get the money for me. Clever idea I had suggesting that Bulba bug the golf course when he got there, before he went to Negaduck. But he doesn't know I've got a receiver, too. This one controls the course's transmitters as well as Bulba's. I wonder how long it'll take him to find out where the bug is. I know he knows there is one." Glomgold laughed. Very shortly, he would be the richest duck in the world and Scrooge and his family would be out in the cold.

Max had a good idea of what Megavolt was planning for Bushroot and couldn't wait to see it. He had made Megavolt promise he could be the one to pull the switch. He wanted to do it right in front of Heather, and he wanted to be looking into Bushroot's eyes when he was suddenly deprived of his plant side. Max knew the med would take away Bushroot's telepathy, too. He didn't know how far the telepathy extended, or if he could only talk to plants with his mind, but Max smiled, realizing that soon Bushroot would be completely normal. How would Heather like him then? But his plans for Bushroot didn't stop there. Taking away part of him wouldn't be enough; he was going to pay for thinking he could have any association at all with Max's wife. He was going to hurt Bushroot, and Heather was going to watch. He was going to have Megavolt and Liquidator carry out the punishment he had threatened to give Elizabeth if Heather didn't do what he wanted. Bushroot was going to be a very wet, very fried duck and Heather was going to watch the whole thing. She wouldn't dare defy Max after that. He looked at Heather, who was still bound and gagged on the floor. After they were done here, he was going to take her out of Calisota, to another country, maybe Mexico. Wherever they went, it had to be out of this jurisdiction, and out of the country, because there was too big a risk of Max getting caught and thrown back in jail. Once they were out of the country, they would be married again. Then they would come back for Marvin. It wouldn't be long before things were completely back to normal, back to the way Max wanted it. Heather and Marvin would never get away from him again. He would see to it. For the rest of their lives, Max Aubrey's wishes would be the only ones that would ever matter to either of them.


	8. Splitting Up

Everyone on both sides spent hours making plans and preparing for every contingency they could think of. The adult heroes had no idea the kids were listening and would be going with each of them. The kids had plans of their own, and they were going to help whether or not the adults wanted it. At least one kid would go with most of the adults.

While the heroes planned, some of the villains took action. Bulba left for Duckburg to deal with Gizmoduck. The Beagle Boys went to commit robberies to distract the cops from looking for Max and the Five. Max was hoping the Beagle Boys' crimes would distract Darkwing, too. He wanted to deal with Bushroot without Darkwing interfering. Megavolt went off to test his med; he didn't want to try it on Bushroot without being sure it worked. Even as frazzled as his brain was, he knew never to use a machine without testing it first.

Eventually, some of the heroes left, too, to take action. Launchpad and Bushroot left to try to find Heather and Max. Neptunia knew from the fish that the Liquidator was trying to freeze the lake; this was his way of distracting Neptunia. Apparently, at least some of the newly formed alliance of villains had the brains to devise their own "divide and conquer" plan, as Darkwing had a few weeks before. The heroes thought it was probably Negaduck, Magica or Ma Beagle; they still had no idea about Bulba, or Glomgold's covert involvement.

"Do you think your friend's gonna come and save you?" Max asked Heather in a tone that managed to sound both menacing and amiable. He had become bored and decided to taunt her to make sure she knew how hopeless her situation was. "Reggie's not gonna do anything to save you; I took care of that. I'll bet the cops have him in custody right now. Don't think there's any hope for him; the Saint Canard Police Department is obviously hopeless. How else could we escape?"

Heather wished she could kick or punch at him; she hated feeling helpless. He had made her feel helpless for over a year and now he was doing it again. She had to find a way to get out of here. She needed to see Marvin, and she needed to get to the cops to tell them Reggie was innocent.

She had overheard some of Max's new friends talking and realized that none of them were as smart as they thought they were. Apparently Max also realized that, to an extent, and he knew his own limitations, despite his big talk.

She looked around for what seemed like the hundredth time, trying to find something she could use to defend herself. Again, she found nothing. She cursed Max for being smart enough to think to hide any possible weapons. But even if she could find a weapon, she was still bound and gagged, and she had heard Max and Negaduck talking about the possibility of Magica using a spell to keep her silent and immobilized without ropes and a gag.

"OK," she thought. "If I can't find any weapons, or even maneuver to use them if I had them, I'll have to try to use something else."

The thought made her want to laugh. What else could she use? She had no telepathy like Reggie. She promised herself that when and if she got out of this she would take self-defense classes. She had no intention of ever allowing herself to get into another situation like this again if she could help it.

"Max," Negaduck called. "Stay here and keep an eye on your wife."

"X-wife," Heather thought fiercely. "I'll die before I let this creep marry me again or get his hands on my son."

"Where are you going?" Max asked.

"We need to get rid of the Justice Ducks and their new friend, Scrooge McDuck."

"Scrooge McDuck?" Heather thought, surprised. "What could the richest duck in the world possibly have to do with this?"

She commanded herself to focus. Scrooge McDuck's involvement was not going to get her out of this mess. She had heard enough from Max's friends to know that there was a lot more going on here than a simple kidnapping. Some of them wanted revenge against Reggie. That was what had attracted Max; he and Negaduck were determined to get back at Reggie for various reasons. Heather was Max's only reason. Negaduck was angry with Reggie for leaving the Fearsome Five, but Heather knew enough about him by now to know that he also wanted to hurt Reggie just for the fun of it.

"Can't I come with you?" Max pleaded sycophantically. "Magica could put that spell on Heather so she can't possibly escape. Can't I go with you and get Bushroot?"

"No need," Negaduck said. "We checked the police scanner. Bushy was proven innocent. He had an air tight alibi and your prints were found on the note."

"Blast it!" Max cursed loudly.

"If I know Darkwing," Negaduck continued, "and I do, he's gonna wanna rescue Heather and Bushroot's gonna wanna help him. They'll come to you. Just be ready."

"I need Megavolt," Max said. "He's got the molecular extraction device."

Heather didn't know what that was, but she thought it sounded horrible. She wished she could find a way to warn Reggie.

"He's testing it now. He'll be back as soon as he's sure he's got all the bugs worked out. Bushy's gonna be very surprised when he gets here."

Negaduck and Max laughed. Negaduck's laugh was loud and maniacal; Max's was quiet and dangerous.

"You're not hurting Reggie," Heather thought furiously. "I don't care what it takes. I don't care what I have to do. I'm getting out of here!"

The time for feeling helpless and sorry for herself had long passed. She was angry now and she wasn't going to play the victim. Her son was in danger. Reggie was in danger. He had helped her get the divorce, and now he was apparently trying to help her get out of this. Heather could do no less than to help save him from whatever horrific fate this unlikely mix of evil geniuses and equally evil morons had in store for him and his friends.

Bubba followed behind Launchpad and Bushroot at a safe distance. The last thing he wanted was to get caught. If that happened, the adults would send him back to Gosalyn's house and he'd miss all the fun. Even worse, he wouldn't be able to help the nice lady the bad guys had captured. He didn't know her, but he knew what bad guys were like. He had dealt with the Beagle Boys and they were involved in this. He didn't want the Beagle Boys to hurt the poor lady.

"Hey, Launchpad," Bubba heard someone call.

It was a tough sounding voice and Bubba prepared for action, hoping he wouldn't have to take it so soon. He didn't want to be caught, but he would use his club to defend Launchpad and Bushroot if he had to.

"What are you guys doing here?"

"Hey, Charlie. Bushroot's gonna ask the trees if they saw Max and Heather. We hope the plants can lead us to him."

"Need help?" Charlie asked, coming into bubba's view.

He was a scrawny dog in a police uniform. He didn't look very tough, but Bubba had a feeling that was deceiving. He sounded tough, and he wouldn't be a police officer if he couldn't do what needed to be done.

"No thanks. I think you and Annie better stay here with Heather's mom in case Max, or somebody else, comes looking for her and the baby."

"Somebody else? What else is going on, Launchpad?"

Bubba saw Launchpad hesitate and wondered why. Policemen were your friends; that was one of the things Bubba had learned in school.

"LP, I know you don't wanna betray DW, but we're on the same side here. If I'm gonna protect Mrs. Fern and Marvin, I need to know what I'm up against."

"He's right," Bushroot said quietly. "Darkwing trusts Officers Shepherd and Calico, doesn't he?"

"Yeah, and he did ask for their help."

Charlie chuckled.

"As much as Darkwing ever asks for help from anyone. He's the most independent guy I've ever met."

Launchpad smiled, then explained the entire situation.

Louie followed Neptunia to the lake. He had an idea how he could help Neptunia, but knew it could get him caught and sent back to the house. It might even give the other kids away, too, but they all knew how serious this was. Saving one of the adults was worth the risk of getting caught and punished. Even someone as young as Webby knew this could potentially turn into a life or death situation.

Neptunia was gradually losing ground. She and the Liquidator had been fighting for a while now and the liquefied dog was blocking off her every escape route by freezing the lake in front of her everywhere she went. The coward still wasn't engaging Neptunia directly, though. He would block her escape route, then blend in with the water that wasn't frozen so Neptunia couldn't attack him. Louie wondered what he would do when he had frozen too much of the lake and couldn't use it to hide anymore. But that thought worried him because he didn't know if Neptunia would be able to get away either. If Liquidator froze too much of the lake, neither of them would be safe. Neptunia couldn't survive in ice, and neither could the rest of the fish. Louie had to act at just the right moment.

Bulba watched Gizmoduck from his mechanical eye. He was doing surveillance before he had to engage this apparently formidable enemy. Bulba was impressed. Gizmoduck's weapons appeared to match his. He wondered if the duck's intelligence was also a match, or if Gizmoduck and Darkwing had their bungling good luck in common. If that was the case, Bulba was fairly confident that he could beat Gizmoduck.

"Yes, Father," Morgana sighed irritably, "I see now why you didn't want me to meet her. I get it now. But I need your help to find her. I'm not sure I have the power to defeat her on my own and Darkwing and the rest of my friends are depending on me to deal with her; I'm the only one capable of defeating another sorceress. But I need you to tell me everything you know about her. Scrooge McDuck has already told me a lot, but you were married to her."

"Well, of course, Morgana; I'll help you. But you're not going to face her alone. I'm coming with you."

Morgana hesitated, but only for the sake of exerting her independent nature. She was secretly relieved that her father was going to help her deal with her mother. She had told Launchpad that she would be OK fighting her own mother, and emotionally that was true. Magica was evil and had to be stopped. But Morgana was no longer evil. She didn't want to cross the fine line between good and evil by using her darker powers on Magica and she wasn't entirely sure she was strong enough to defeat her without them. Magica used nothing but dark powers; she and Morgana would be complete opposites. Two good magical people could outdo one evil one, she hoped.

"All right," she said, faking reluctance. "The first thing we need to do is find her.

Moloculo smiled. Magica would be very surprised to see his face again.

Scrooge, Darkwing and Stegmutt were going to help the cops deal with the Beagle Boys. Darkwing had told him the cops wouldn't be too happy about that, but Scrooge would use his considerable influence as the richest duck in the world to get them to agree. They needed to even the odds a little. With the Beagle Boys thrown into this mess, the Justice Ducks were grossly outnumbered. Scrooge and Launchpad knew enough about them to help with that, but Launchpad was with Bushroot, where he needed to be. Bushroot still needed to be watched and Heather needed to be rescued. It was up to Scrooge to help Darkwing, Stegmutt and the cops deal with his old enemies. Once that was done, they could concentrate on Max and the Fearsome Five, Magica included. Scrooge was doubtful that he could do much to help with Darkwing's familiar enemies, but the Beagles and Magica were so familiar to him that he felt he could help defeat them and have them back in jail before this time tomorrow.


	9. Facing Off

Louie's fears were realized sooner than he'd expected. Neptunia and Liquidator were quickly approaching a stalemate and Neptunia was being frozen out of the lake. Liquidator would escape if Louie didn't do anything; he nearly had Neptunia trapped. She only had one route of escape now and Liquidator was about to block that off, too.

Louie quickly pulled out the flashlight Gyro had given him for Christmas. He had given each of the kids one of his inventions. Louie's present was a flashlight that could become a heat source if necessary. This time it was definitely necessary.

He turned on the flashlight and flicked the hidden switch that turned it into the heat source. The switch was concealed to prevent it from being flicked accidentally. An unsuspecting person who accidentally flicked it could seriously burn themselves if they put their hand near the lens, or even worse damage their eyes if they were looking at it at the wrong time. There was also a knob in the compartment concealing the switch to adjust the temperature.

Careful to keep the heat away from him, he ran to the lake and began to unfreeze the water. Liquidator and Neptunia looked over at him, surprised. Liquidator was angry, but Neptunia was relieved. At the moment, being angry that Louie had disobeyed a direct order from his uncle to stay home was the farthest thing from her mind. She needed help and she knew it.

"Thanks, Kid!" she said gratefully. "But try to hurry; the other fish can't last much longer out of the water!"

Louie swung the flash heater in a wider ark, trying to unfreeze more as quickly as possible. Neptunia distracted Liquidator, who was trying to get to Louie in time to stop him.

"I wouldn't if I were you," she said in a reasonable "I'm just trying to look out for your safety" tone. "That heater looks pretty dangerous. You don't wanna get steamed, do yah?"

Liquidator paused, thinking hard. How could he get out of this. Neptunia had beaten him a few weeks ago. Negaduck would kill him if she managed to do it again, and this time she had help from whoever this kid was and his little steamer. What was that thing, anyway? Liquidator had never seen anything like it.

Neptunia quickly took the one escape route Liquidator had not managed to cut off and ran to the beach, helping the fish back into the unfrozen water. Louie was careful not to let the water get steamed; he didn't want it to be too hot for the fish. But he would steam Liquidator himself if he had to. Liquidator seemed to know that and tried to get away.

"Oh no yah don't!" Louie said angrily. He didn't like this guy's fighting tactics; he was a coward and Louie wasn't about to let him get away with what he had done to Neptunia and the other innocent fish. "Stay there or I'll steam yah!"

Liquidator thought of blending in with the unfrozen water, but that would only take care of part of his problem. He had to beat Neptunia. Once he beat her, then he could deal with this interfering little imp.

Unfortunately for Liquidator, he quickly became outnumbered. The other fish were as angry with him as Louie and Neptunia were. As Neptunia helped them back into the water, they all made a beeline for the cowardly canine and latched onto him. They surrounded him, pinned him and made it impossible for him to move, or even liquefy to escape.

Louie laughed. Liquidator looked too surprised to act, even if he could have. The water was now unfrozen and Neptunia and the other fish were safe. Now the problem was what to do with the dastardly dog.

"What do we do now, Neptunia?"

She looked at him, then at Liquidator, deep in thought.

"We take him to the police station, then go see what we can do to help the others. You hold that heater thingy on him; keep it low so he doesn't get hurt, but make sure he knows you can make things a lot hotter for him if he gives us any trouble."

"One down," Louie thought proudly. Then he thought of the Beagle Boys. How many of them would be with Ma Beagle and Magica. "But how many to go?" he thought next, starting to worry. As he followed Neptunia and Liquidator in the direction of the police station, he was glad they had been able to beat Liquidator so quickly. He hoped his brothers, Webby, Gosalyn and Bubba were also having good luck. He was now more convinced than ever that the adults needed them to help.

As Heather watched Max gloating over her capture, she realized she wasn't completely helpless. Her feet were bound together, but she could still straighten her legs. If he would get close enough, she would be able to kick him. The surprise would catch him off guard, especially if she could manage to kick him in the head, or kick his legs out from under him. The problem then would be what to do after that. Kicking him would do no good if she had no way to get away.

Her hands were tied behind her and there was nothing she could do about that right now. She had tried to free them, but trying only made the ropes pull tighter.

She heard Megavolt coming back and began to feel hopeful. He wasn't that smart; maybe he would make a mistake and give her an opportunity to act. She only hoped she got the chance to act before he had a chance to use the molecular extraction device, whatever that was, un Reggie or anyone else who might be trying to help her. She thought there was a slight possibility that he might use it on her, but Max wouldn't want that, so it wasn't likely, unless Megavolt got carried away or she made him angry. She would have to be careful.

"We found them!" Bushroot cried happily. "The tree says they went there."

Launchpad frowned as he looked where Bushroot was pointing.

"What?" Bushroot asked. "What's wrong?"

"Not wrong, exactly. I know this place. I feel like I've been here before."

"The tree says it's just an old abandoned golf course."

"That's it; Goony Golf! DW had to fight the guy who ran it because he used ants to try to shrink and capture all the business buildings in Saint Canard."

Bushroot looked at him blankly.

"It's a long story; I'll tell yah later. Let's go find Heather."

"Does it work?" Max asked Megavolt excitedly. "Can we take away Bushroot's plant side? Can we make him just an ordinary duck?"

So that was their plan. Heather felt a mixture of anxiety and gladness. If Reggie was a normal duck again, maybe his transition from bad to good would be easier. It wasn't exactly his desire to be good that she doubted, but his ability to stay good. Max had deceived her into thinking he was someone he wasn't. She had no assurance that Bushroot wasn't doing the same. But if Reggie really was coming to save her, after she had rejected him, didn't that mean he really did want to be good?

But did he want to be a normal duck again? He seemed to have come to terms with his differences. Should she let Max and Megavolt turn him normal, or should she try to stop them?

"It works," Megavolt said, rubbing his hands together. "Bushy won't know what hit him."

"Neither will Darkwing," he thought, picturing again the gas gun sticking out of Darkwing's head.

"Can I play?" Quackerjack asked, coming in behind Megavolt. "I'm bored. Everyone's got something to do except me; I'm stuck with guard duty."

"Get back to your post!" Max yelled furiously. "You're the lookout; you're supposed to tell us when Bushroot's coming!"

"Surprise," someone said from the doorway.

The villains whirled around and Heather, from her place on the floor, looked in the direction of the door with relief. Launchpad and Bushroot were there, glaring at Max, Megavolt and Quackerjack.

Heather looked at Bushroot and wanted to smile, which was hard to do with a gag in her mouth. She was glad Negaduck had been right about that much; Reggie had obviously had an alibi and was not arrested.

Heather took advantage of Max's surprise to do what she'd been wanting to do for hours. She kicked his legs hard and they went out from under him. He fell hard on the ground at her feet and she kicked him in the head to make sure he didn't get up. She didn't kick his head hard enough to seriously injure him, just hard enough to make sure he knew not to try to move.

Before either of the other two villains could react, Bushroot had them wrapped in vines. He didn't know what Megavolt was holding, but knowing it couldn't be good, he grabbed it with more vines and put it safely on a table. Then he used more vines to pin Max for extra assurance that the kidnapper would stay where he was. As he took care of them, Launchpad ungagged and unbound Heather.

"You OK?" he asked with obvious concern.

"I'm fine, thanks to you and Reggie."

"They're safely tied up for now, Launchpad," Bushroot said. "Let's get Heather to safety before we go help the others." He paused, turning to Heather. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," she said, smiling at him. "I'll be even better once I go home and see my mom and my baby."

"We need to get these guys to the police station before we do anything," Launchpad said. "We can't take any chances on them escaping before the cops get here. We can drop yah off after that, Heather. The cops are probably gonna wanna talk to yah before yah go home, anyway."

"Good point," Bushroot and Heather said together."

Just then, they were interrupted by a strange electronic whirring sound and Heather felt a very odd sensation. She had no way to describe it, but she knew something very bad had just happened to her.

Max didn't see Darkwing, but that had not turned out to be the problem. He had been sure Darkwing would be the one to come and deal with him and Megavolt, but instead he had sent his sidekick and Reggie. He had been expecting Bushroot, but not Launchpad. He had thought Darkwing was brighter, but Launchpad apparently had a lot more brains than Max had given him credit for. He had stupidly mistaken Launchpad's kind nature for weakness and lack of intelligence. "After all," he had thought before, "why else would he trust a freak of nature like Reggie Bushroot?" Both Launchpad and Bushroot had been smarter and more resourceful than Max had thought. He needed to learn to stop underestimating his enemies.

"Megavolt," Max whispered as Launchpad and Bushroot discussed their options. He was suddenly struck by an idea. "Use the med. Take Bushy's plant side away."

"I can't. My hands are tied behind me. Besides, Bushy took it away before he-"

"Here yah go, Megsy!" Quackerjack said happily.

The clown had been closest to the table and had managed to snag the machine, even with his hands tied. As he tried to hand him the med, he hit him in the head with it.

"Ouch!" Megavolt cried, rubbing near the plug.

"Sorry," Quackerjack said, sounding both sheepish and amused.

"I can't see," Megavolt told Max. "I can't look into the lens to know what I'm changing."

"Quackerjack can," Max said.

Quackerjack got behind Megavolt and directed him , using his body language, looking into the med's lens.

"Now," he said when Megavolt was positioned correctly.

"Reggie," Heather cried, seeing what Max and Megavolt were doing, "look out!"

Quackerjack watched with interest, wanting to see what fun things would happen, but didn't interfere. There was nothing he could do, anyway. But he felt sulky and annoyed that he couldn't participate and that Heather was messing things up. "Just like a girl," he thought, pouting.

Launchpad watched helplessly as three things happened at once; there was nothing he could do but watch. Heather warned Bushroot, then jumped in front of him. Megavolt used some sort of device that Launchpad had been sure Bushroot had taken out of The villains' reach and a light shot out of it, hitting both Heather and Bushroot. Heather suddenly grew leaves like Bushroot, with the same color and length. Bushroot seemed OK, except that his purple hair seemed to thin a little. He was not affected as much because Heather had gotten the brunt of the beam. Heather and Bushroot had been molecularly joined.

Darkwing couldn't believe how many Beagle Boys their were. It seemed like every time they stopped one robbery, another was taking place by another Beagle Boy somewhere else. As much as he hated asking for, or accepting, help, he was glad Stegmutt and Scrooge were there to help him. They each had their own talents and it was much easier for the three of them to deal with all these crooks, especially with Stegmutt's dinosaur strength and Scrooge's knowledge of the Beagles.

"This is the last of them; the police have got all the others," Scrooge said with relief. "That's Bigtime, Bankjob, Beebop, Baby Face, Bouncer, Burger and Baggy."

The seven were coming out of the Hamburger Hippo with a bag full of cash. Ma was waiting with a getaway car. Stegmutt picked up the car and held it.

"Sorry, Lady," he said cheerfully, "but I can't let you take these bad boys away. They stole and that's not nice; it's very wrong and they need to go to jail and be punished."

Scrooge ran to get some of the cops patrolling the area while Darkwing handled the seven with Quack-Fu maneuvers. The Beagles, never faced with this kind of attack before, were too surprised to act until it was too late.

"OK, Stegmutt," Darkwing said calmly. "Put down the car and take the lady out. She's going to jail, too."

Seeing the dinosaur, the Beagle Boys, acting on self-preservation instincts rather than brains, decided not to try to get away or attack Darkwing and Scrooge. Their part in this adventure was over and they all knew it.

Darkwing would rather have been helping Launchpad and Bushroot or going after Negaduck, but he had known Scrooge and Stegmutt would need his help. As much as it irritated him to be handling petty criminals committing petty crimes, especially because he knew it was a diversion from the real adventure, he knew this was essential to stopping the bigger crimes. He had learned over the past year that there was a bigger picture that extended beyond his need for recognition and fame. He had learned not to care as much about photo opportunities and interviews. He would never turn one down if he got one, but he wouldn't take all the credit anymore if he had help, which he usually did, thanks to Launchpad. If a photo or interview opportunity came out of this, he would insist on having everyone who had helped him included. He knew there was no way he could have done any of this alone tonight. The crimes the Beagles had committed had been small, but there had been too many to fight on his own because there were so many crooks. Darkwing's common sense was finally beginning to preclude his ego.

Now it was time to go after Negaduck and Magica. He pulled out his tracker and frowned at Scrooge and Stegmutt.

"Uh-oh. Negaduck's out of tracker range."

"I think I know where he and Magica have gone," Scrooge said.

"After your dime?" Darkwing asked.

"Aye," Scrooge said, "and I think we better get their quickly. Morgana and her father can handle Magica; I've no doubt of that, but you know more about Negaduck than Gizmoduck does, so he might need your help."

Darkwing smiled. Scrooge had unknowingly boosted the caped crime fighter's ego. Neither of them knew they were going to have more trouble than just Negaduck and Magica. Gizmoduck was definitely going to need Darkwing's help. He had finally met his match in Taurus Bulba.

"Look," Negaduck said, surprised.

"Perfect," Magica said happily. "Gizmoduck is still being distracted by Taurus Bulba. This means we can get dime and be out of here with no trouble."

"Aw, can't we blow up the money bin?" Negaduck pleaded.

"Why?" she asked, surprised.

"It'll be fun! It'll really make Scrooge mad."

Magica smiled, but shook her head.

"Sorry, Dallink, but an explosion would definitely get that metal duck's attention. Better just get dime and go."

Negaduck sighed. He hated to admit it, but she was right.

"Give up, Duck," Bulba said reasonably. "You can't win."

Gizmoduck had lost track of how long he'd been fighting this crazy cyborg, but he was proving to be a match for every one of Gizmoduck's weapons. He was wearing him down. Bulba was tired, too, and Gizmoduck could see it, but he was beginning to wonder which combatant would wear the other out first. Gizmoduck was fighting with everything he had, reminding himself that Mr. McDuck's livelihood, as well as the safety of everyone in Duckburg, depended on his ability to keep this bionic bull from turning the town into one big china shop.

"Hey there, Bulbsy," Darkwing said.

Gizmoduck and Bulba looked over, surprised. Darkwing and Scrooge were standing there. Stegmutt had gone home, knowing there was nothing more he could do tonight. He had done his part by helping to stop the Beagle Boys and Darkwing had promised to reward him by buying hotdogs from him for everyone after this was over.

Moloculo and Morgana stood behind Scrooge and Darkwing, having transported over with them. They had met at the police station when Moloculo had determined that Magica was in Duckburg.

Darkwing had checked in with each of the Justice Ducks. Apparently something unexpected had happened to Launchpad and Bushroot, but LP had said they had things under control, sort of. Darkwing wished he'd had the time to find out what that meant.

Neptunia had said Liquidator was in jail, leaving out Louie's part. He had helped her, so she helped him by not getting him into trouble. She would tell the story later, but by then it would be over and she and Louie hoped the adults would be too tired and too relieved to punish the kids.

Morgana had reported that Magica was in Duckburg and Darkwing had told her Negaduck was out of range of the tracker. Figuring Scrooge was right and they were probably together, everyone had decided to converge on Duckburg and stop them before they could get back to Saint Canard.

The kids, by way of a communication system Gyro had invented specifically for them, had split up again, leaving the adults they were assigned to follow. Bubba was already with Launchpad and Bushroot, so he would stay there. Webby and Louie would go to Goony Golf while Huey, Dewey and Gosalyn followed Darkwing and Scrooge. Teleportation was one of the magical things Darkwing had allowed Morgana to teach Gosalyn after he had learned to be more tolerant of his girlfriend's differences.

Neptunia knew there was nothing she could do in Duckburg, so she went back to the bay.

The kids were hoping to finally be able to do something; so far, only Louie had seen real action, aside from what Bubba had observed. Bubba didn't have the vocabulary to explain what had happened, so Louie and Webby were looking forward to finding out what was going on.

Glomgold, listening from his office, began to fume. He didn't have to see what was going on to know that something had just gone wrong. The pregnant pause as Gizmoduck and Bulba looked over at the newcomers was enough of a sign to know that Glomgold needed to run interference somehow, and fast. He stood up from his desk, taking the receiver with him, and left for the money bin to see what trouble he could throw into this mix of heroes and villains. If he could help it, he would make the odds a little less even.


	10. Rescue, Victory and Defeat

"Megavolt," Max cried furiously, "you idiot!"

"What happened to me?" Heather cried, almost at the same time.

"You're like me now," Bushroot said, feeling dazed.

"What?"

"Huh?" Megavolt asked, as confused as Heather.

Quackerjack laughed like a child.

"You flipped the switch the wrong way, Megs. You merged Heather and Bushy."

"Oopsy," Megavolt said sheepishly.

"I don't want my wife like this!" Max screamed.

"X-wife," Heather said, "and I'm glad you don't want me like this."

"Change her back," Max commanded Megavolt, "now!"

"You hurt nice lady!" Bubba cried angrily, running into the room.

"Bubba," Launchpad said, surprised, "where did you come from? What are yah doing here?"

"Bubba follow," he said simply. "Bubba help."

He took his club and clobbered Max. Heather watched with amusement and satisfaction as her bullying X-husband fell to the ground with a flock of birds circling around his head and singing to him.

Quackerjack was not unconscious, though, and tried to maneuver himself to look into the lens so Megavolt could change Heather back. Unfortunately for Heather, the clumsy clown bumped Megavolt's hands, causing the med to fall to the ground and shatter into pieces.

"Oh no!" Heather and Bushroot cried.

"Don't worry," Launchpad said. "We'll ask Gyro or Dr. Bellum to invent something to help change yah back, Heather, but first we need to-"

He broke off. Something had caught his eye. He looked in the direction of the door and saw Louie and Webby standing in the doorway.

"Didn't think we'd let the grownups have all the fun, did yah?" Louie asked. "You know us better than that, Launchpad."

As he looked from them to Bubba and back again, Launchpad couldn't help chuckling. Some things never changed.

"But we missed all the action," Webby complained, surprising Launchpad into another chuckle.

"Yeah," Louie pouted. "What happened here?"

Launchpad introduced Heather, Megavolt, Max and Quackerjack and then explained why Heather and Bushroot were suddenly so much alike.

Bushroot and Heather picked up Megavolt and Quackerjack respectively with vines in order to carry them out. Launchpad lifted Max and carried him. With the kids following, they went to the Thunderquack to drop the three escaped criminals off at the police station. DW and the others might need help; they needed to get rid of these guys and head for Duckburg. There was still Negaduck and Magica to deal with. Then they had to find Gyro and see if he could help Heather get back to normal before they brought her home.

"Darkwing Duck," Bulba snarled. "Always a pleasure. Care to join the fight? I can pound you even easier than I can pound this metal moron."

"Oh yeah? You may have the weapons, Bulba, but we have the numbers!"

"Darkwing duck accepting help?" Bulba asked.

Darkwing hated the mocking tone that was always in Bulba's voice. But Bulba also scared him; he was the most powerful and dangerous enemy Darkwing had ever faced. He was relieved that Gosalyn was home safe and wouldn't have to deal again with the man who had killed her grandfather and then twice tried to kill her.

Gizmoduck, having a minute to rest while Darkwing and Bulba exchanged taunts, attacked again. At the same time, Darkwing kicked at Bulba, trying to knock the bull off balance. He could see how tired Gizmoduck was and grudgingly admired his rival's fighting stamina against someone like Taurus Bulba.

Huey, Dewey and Gosalyn teleported in at this point and stared at the battle before them. Seeing Gosalyn's face, the boys knew she'd face this weird cyborg before and was actually afraid of him. They were surprised to see Gosalyn afraid; so far, she had seemed completely fearless. But there was also a fierce determination in her eyes that more than matched the fear; she was not going to be Bulba's victim again.

The boys exchanged a glance, wondering if they should ask her who he was, but decided not to. There was no time; they might need to take action if the mechanical bull proved too dangerous for the adults. He had obviously worn Gizmoduck out.

Morgana threw magic powder at the bull, who suddenly found it hard to move. The powder, coupled with Darkwing's and Gizmoduck's attacks, made him fall over. He growled angrily as he struggled to get up, but the powder had frozen him in place.

"What is that, Morg?" Darkwing asked, impressed.

"Paralysis powder."

"Thank you, fellow Justice Ducks," Gizmoduck said gratefully. "He almost had me-"

That was when the alarms in Scrooge's money bin went off.

"Magica!" Scrooge cried, running for the bin.

"Go, Morg," Darkwing said urgently. Mr. McDuck's gonna need your help with Magica. Giz and I will take Bulba to prison."

Morgana looked back at the two heroes standing over the villainous cyborg, whose anger was getting the better of him, before running after Scrooge. Bulba's anger was heating his circuits, making it even harder for him to move. The powder would wear off soon, but as Bulba got hotter, the more difficulty he had shaking it off.

Gizmoduck took out a pair of protective gloves and handed them to Darkwing, then took out another pair for himself.

"Good thinking," Darkwing said, for once not being sarcastic with the galvanized duck. "He's too hot to handle without protection."

"Thanks," Gizmoduck responded as he picked up one end of Bulba, "and thanks also for showing up when you did. I don't mind admitting I couldn't have fought him off much longer."

Darkwing was silent for a moment, looking from Bulba to Gizmoduck as he picked up the bull's feet.

"I've fought him twice before and I barely escaped; one time he almost killed me. He's a formidable enemy and no one person can fight him alone for long, even with your weapons. Anyone fighting Bulba should have the common sense to ask for help."

Gizmoduck activated his helmet copter and they took off for the police station as Morgana and Scrooge, followed closely by Moloculo and the three still unseen children into the bin.

Negaduck looked around at the sound of running feet and saw Morgana, her father and Scrooge rushing through the doorway.

"Is too late, Scroogie," Magica gloated. "I am finally getting my hot little hands on your lucky dime!"

She stopped, staring past him at her daughter and X-husband.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded of Moloculo.

"You didn't think I would let my daughter face you alone, did you?"

"Hello, Mother," Morgana said without emotion.

Magica looked intently at Morgana, trying to figure out what to do. Should she try to win her over to their side? Should she attack? She never did have maternal instincts. That was why she hadn't fought Moloculo for custody. She really didn't want to be saddled with a child. Moloculo had done her a favor by taking the baby away.

For her part, Morgana stared at Magica with nothing but contempt. She had no false hopes of making her mother want to be good; she was too much of a realist to believe Magica would even want to be good. On some level Morgana had always been good, even when she was evil. She knew as soon as she looked into Magica's eyes that this would not be the case with her. Magica was dangerous and there was no denying it.

Moloculo attacked Negaduck with a spell as Morgana went for Magica. Negaduck dodged when Moloculo threw out his hand. Unfortunately for Darkwing's demented double, that was exactly what Moloculo wanted him to do. A wall of brick went up around him and he couldn't escape.

"That'll hold you until Darkwing gets here," Moloculo said smugly.

"Magica," Negaduck screamed, "get me outa this!"

Magica was too distracted with Morgana's spell to pay any attention to her new boyfriend, though. Her daughter's skills were impressive. She had heard stories of Morgana's villainous past. She held her daughter in absolute contempt for giving up all that power just for a man. Together, as mother and daughter, they could have ruled the world if Morgana hadn't become weakened by love and goodness.

Morgana hit Magica with a spell and the evil witch went flying. She barely missed hitting her head on the brick wall containing Negaduck. She got up quickly and angrily hit Morgana with a counterspell. Morgana flew across the bin and fell. Before she could get up, Magica transported with the dime to her home in Italy. She knew it would take Moloculo and Morgana a long time to find her there because her house was magically protected from detection. By the time they found her, the amulet would be created and Magica would have the entire world groveling at her feet.


	11. The Battle for the Dime

"It's gone," Scrooge cried. "I've lost me old number1!"

He put his face in his hands so the others couldn't see his smile. Things were going exactly according to plan.

Hearing their uncle's cries, Huey and Dewey instinctively ran to him. Gosalyn followed, having no other choice, but convinced they were going to be in big trouble now.

Negaduck, whose face was above the brick wall, could still see and hear everything. He glared at Gosalyn and the boys, hoping to intimidate one or all of them into helping him. He didn't know how they could help, but the important thing now was to make them scared enough to want to help. It didn't work. They all stuck their tongues out at him.

"My dad would love to see this," Gosalyn laughed.

"But how do we get him outa there and back to Saint Canard to the police station?" Huey asked.

"Dark and I will take care of that when he gets back," Morgana said, then did a double take. "When did you three get here?"

"Aye, Scrooge asked, glaring at his two nephews, "and where are the other kids?"

"They're with Launchpad and Bushroot," Dewey said. "We followed you guys here by teleportation. Morgana taught Gosalyn how to use some magic."

"I need to learn not to teach you things like that," Morgana said, glaring at Gosalyn. "Your father would not like this."

"He's not gonna like it," Gosalyn said without remorse, "but he can't come and take me home. He trusts you and Darkwing. He knows I'm safe. Besides, he gave you permission to teach me how to teleport; he said he knew it was one more way I could protect myself."

"That's because he doesn't know what you get up to," Morgana said severely, covering the mistake she'd made by referring to Darkwing as Gosalyn's father, glad the girl had the sense to remind her without actually reminding her that Scrooge didn't know Darkwing was Drake Mallard.

"But what do we do about your dime, Uncle Scrooge?" Huey asked. "If Magica makes her amulet, she can rule the world."

"We have to find her first," Morgana said.

"I'm already working on that," Moloculo said confidently. "She's no where in Duckburg, but I know where she liked to hide out before. I'll check every one of those places with magic; I'm sure she'll be somewhere familiar."

"Can we come when you find her?" Dewey pleaded.

"I don't know," Scrooge said.

"You might need help," Huey said reasonably.

"I suppose if we say no Gosalyn will just teleport you there anyway," Scrooge said, annoyed and half resigned.

"That's possible," Morgana said, "but Gosalyn is still a beginner. She has to have a very good description of a place if she hasn't been there before. Your nephews must have given her an excellent description of your money bin for her to have gotten here with no trouble."

"Well, I suppose you can come,?" Scrooge said reluctantly. "We'll be able to keep an eye on yah if nothing else. I should have known you kids would try to get in on the action, and now yah have a new cohort!"

He glared at Gosalyn's grin.

"What are you doing here, Gosalyn Mallard?" Darkwing's angry voice came through the doorway. "I told you to take the others back to your house."

"We knew you'd need help," Gosalyn said, again without remorse.

"Never mind that for now," Scrooge told Darkwing. "We need to get me lucky dime back; Magica escaped with it."

"I think we need to take care of Negaduck, too," Gizmoduck said. "You can take him out of there now; I'll bring him to the station."

"You're still exhausted from the battle of the bull," Darkwing said. "Do you want me to come as backup?"

"Thanks, but I can handle him."

"I'll give you some extra assurance," Morgana said.

She dissolved the brick wall with one spell and almost simultaneously threw paralysis powder at Negaduck.

"That was almost shamefully easy," Gizmoduck said with a tired smile.

He picked up Negaduck and activated his helmet copter again.

"OK," Darkwing said, "so where did Magica go? Let's go get your dime back, Mr. McDuck."

"Father's looking for her now,. It may take a while."

"In the meantime," Scrooge said, "maybe we should check on Launchpad and Bushroot. Kids, contact Louie, Webby and Bubba. Find out what's going on."

Dewey took out the rectangular communication device Gyro had given them. It had a microphone, speaker, volume control and a few other buttons. Dewey pushed one of them and asked Webby what was happening. Then he turned up the volume so everyone could hear.

"Megavolt merged Heather and Bushroot," Webby said in a whisper.

She explained about the med and Heather having leaves now.

"Tell her not to worry," Darkwing said. "We'll have Dr. Bellum or Gyro invent something to change her back."

Dewey explained what had happened with the dime.

"Should we come to Duckburg?" Launchpad asked. "We can as soon as we drop these guys off at the police station; we're there now."

"I found her!" Moloculo said. "She's in Italy, in her home on Mount Vesuvius."

"Take care of those guys, LP," Darkwing said, "then you and Bushroot, and the kids, come to Mount Vesuvius. See you later."

Glomgold stood outside the bin, still listening. He wanted to laugh out loud. Scrooge had lost his most prized possession, and without it, he would be ruined. Scrooge could say all he wanted that he didn't believe in luck, but his lucky dime, the first dime he ever made, was the start of his entire fortune. Even Glomgold, who mocked on principle anything Scrooge liked except money, knew that Scrooge believed firmly in his lucky dime. If Magica had her way, Scrooge's fortune would go the way of his dime; it would disappear.

Bulba had failed, but Glomgold didn't care. Magica had taken care of his problem for him. Bulba could rot in jail while Glomgold overtook Scrooge and became the first richest duck in the world. Scrooge, without his luck, would lose all confidence in his business decisions, causing him to lose his entire fortune. Grinning broadly, Glomgold decided to go back to his office and try to secure as many business propositions as he could before Scrooge became less distracted with his dime and started concentrating on making money again. Even if Scrooge managed to get his dime back, the business Glomgold took from him would increase his fortune and Scrooge would be left out in the cold in those instances.

Moloculo and Morgana teleported everyone to Mount Vesuvius. Magica's brother, who had somehow been turned into a raven years ago, squawked angrily.

"Intruders! Magica, Scrooge is here and he's got company; a lot of company!"

Magica's cauldron bubbled; the dime was sitting on a table. She looked up, grinned evilly at Scrooge, picked up the dime and held it over the cauldron.

"Is no use, Scroogie. There is nothing you can do. Dime is mine, and soon entire world will be mine!"

She cackled insanely.

"Are you sure that's the right dime?" Scrooge asked shrewdly, surprising everyone.

"Of course I am sure!" Magica scoffed. "What else would you have in glass case."

Scrooge took out a dime from his pocket that was completely identical to the dime on the table.

"What?" Magica squawked.

"Huh?" Huey and Dewey asked.

Darkwing and Gosalyn grinned at each other. Launchpad had once told them proudly that Scrooge always had a trick up his sleeve.

Scrooge looked at Morgana, suddenly realizing how to easily facilitate the risky part of his plan. He had originally planned to do it all himself, but now that he was able to reveal his plan, he could use Morgana's help.

"Do you have any way to call that dime to you when I tell yah?" he whispered in her ear.

She nodded, but gave him a questioning look.

"You'll understand soon; I can't risk Poe hearing and telling Magica; he's got really good ears."

"Poe?" Morgana whispered back.

"The raven."

"Which one is the real dime, Magica?" he asked in his normal voice. "Can yah tell? Are yah willing to risk your amulet on a fake dime?"

"Is no problem," Magica said, forcing herself to sound much more confident than she felt. She took the dime from Scrooge and said, "I vill put both dimes in amulet."

"Yah can't do that!" Scrooge cried, genuinely alarmed now.

"Watch me," she said defiantly.

Scrooge was so upset, and Magica was so smug, that neither of them saw Morgana's subtle movement as she did something to the dime Magica was holding in her right hand, leaving the one in her left hand alone. Since everyone else was watching Scrooge and Magica, no one else noticed either. They all thought it was over.

Magica did something to the cauldron, then took both dimes and threw them simultaneously into the ugly pink, purple, orange and green mixture. Scrooge watched, horrified, as the cauldron began to bubble over and turn an angry red. Suddenly, the cauldron exploded in Magica's face and she was covered in red slime. The table under the cauldron began to smoke and the cauldron itself vaporized.

Magica shreeked, terrified and furious. What had happened? What had gone wrong? Had putting both dimes in the mixture caused this mess? She had been so sure that adding the extra dime would be harmless, as long as she had the lucky dime, too.

"No world domination for you today, Mother," Morgana said with a smug smile.

"You little brat!" Magica squawked. "What did you do? You caused this somehow, didn't you?"

"I protected the dime, not to mention the world. Check your pocket, Mr. McDuck. You'll find your dime perfectly unharmed, and it is your old number one. Magica can't use it anymore. I put a spell on it to repel it from the other ingredients of the amulet. Even if she can get her hands on it again, it'll be of no use to her, at least in that case. I'm reasonably confident that between Gizmoduck and your other protections, plus my repellent spell, it'll be completely invincible to her now."

Scrooge looked into his pocket and grinned, kissing the dime.

"Brilliant, Lassie!" he cried happily, hugging Morgana.

"No!" Magica screamed.

Scrooge and the kids laughed.

"Let that be a lesson to yah, Magica," Scrooge said with a grin. "Greed and arrogance mixed together can produce explosive results."

Magica began to cry as Morgana and Moloculo teleported everyone back to Duckburg.

Scrooge put his lucky dime back in its case and gave his exhausted security guard the next day off. Then everyone teleported back to Darkwing Tower, where they contacted Launchpad, Bushroot and the other kids and told them to meet them as soon as they could. The worst was over; all the crooks were back where they belonged. But now they still had to deal with the problem of Heather and Bushroot's merging.


	12. Friends Again

Heather was having trouble dealing with her new form. It wasn't just the fact that she was half plant; it was the telepathy. She wasn't used to having other voices in her head, never mind the voices of plants and trees. It was very unsettling and disorienting. Reggie was doing his best to guide her, to keep her from being overwhelmed, but she was also exhausted from the kidnapping ordeal.

"It's good to see you, Heather," Darkwing said with a smile when they got back to the tower.

"You, too," Heather said absently.

After introductions, Scrooge suggested they have Gyro meet them at Shush and he and Dr. Bellum could brainstorm together. They called Gyro and Heather called her mom to let her know she was safe, but that there was something that needed to be taken care of before she came home. She didn't give details; Elizabeth would have kittens if she knew the truth.

"Is it OK for Charlie and me to go home, then, Darkwing?" Annie asked.

"Yeah, and thanks a lot for your help, Annie."

"No problem. We'll be on vacation for the next two weeks, so I'm glad this was wrapped up so quickly."

"Me, too. Have a good vacation, and tell Charlie the same. By the way, what's gonna happen with the villains? I mean, we need to make sure they can't-"

"Don't worry. They're gonna be separated, put as far away from each other as possible. The Four will still have their trial tomorrow. Plus they and Max and everyone else will be charged with everything that happened tonight. I'm afraid you guys are gonna be spending some time in court testifying against them."

"That'll be my pleasure," Darkwing said.

Everyone involved agreed.

Launchpad dropped Bushroot, Heather and Darkwing off at Shush headquarters, then took Scrooge and the kids home. Against Gosalyn's protests, Darkwing had sent her back to the house. It was way past her bedtime. A firm warning through clench teeth that her father would be worried was enough to stop Gosalyn's arguments. Watching Heather be transformed back was not worth exposing Darkwing's identity, no matter how unlikely, and she was smart enough to know it.

Heather and Bushroot talked telepathically while Bellum and Gyro examined her. He was trying to allay her fears about not being able to go back to normal. He promised he would help her if that was the case, or if she couldn't be helped immediately.

"But what about Mom and Marvin?" she thought at him. "They'll be terrified.!"

She suddenly realized how she sounded. Reggie had been a plant duck for over a year and people were afraid of him. But she could sense that he understood.

"You'll call them, if you can't be put back to normal tonight, and explain the situation. I'll go home with you and show them both there's no reason to be afraid."

He smiled, feeling her gratitude through the telepathic link.

"Bushroot," Bellum asked, "do you still have the machine you used to try to perfect your experiment?"

"No, but I can help you build one. It'll take a while, though; there's no way we can do it all tonight."

"Do you have the blueprints?" Gyro asked.

Bushroot nodded.

"I'll have to go back to my greenhouse to get them. Wanna come with me, Heather, unless Gyro and Dr. Bellum need you to stay?"

"She can go," Bellum said.

"Besides, she looks like she could use some plant nutrients," Gyro said.

"Thank you for helping to save me," she said on the way to the greenhouse. "I wouldn't blame you if you'd just left me to-"

"No," he said gently, putting his arm around her.

He suddenly wondered if he was being too forward, but she moved closer and hugged him back with one arm.

"You were the first human to be my friend since I became half plant. I understood your reasons for not wanting to be with me, even as a friend, after you found out I was a crook. You needed to protect your son; he comes first and that's how it should be."

"I was right about Max," she said apologetically, "but I was wrong about you. Max would never have come to save me, unless there was something else in it for him, like being able to control me. You did it because it was right and because you honestly care about me. I'm sorry I doubted you."

"There's no need to apologize," he said as they reached the greenhouse and he opened the door.

Spike greeted them both happily. Heather smiled as she stroked the plant dog's head.

"Hey there, Spike; this is my friend, Heather."

She laughed as Spike licked her leafy hand.

"As I was saying," Bushroot continued, "you don't need to apologize. I understand that you needed to protect Baby Marvin; I know it wasn't personal. Based on your experiences, you did what was best for your child. You're a good mother."

She thought of how Bushroot had introduced her to Spike. She wanted to believe it, but being with Max had lessened her self-esteem and made her doubt herself, especially tonight after thinking she and her family were safe at home when Max had been able to walk right in and take her out of her house.

"We are still friends, then?"

"Of course," he said, beaming, happier than he'd been in years to have his friend back.

They hugged and Bushroot went to search for the blueprints.

"I've been wondering," Heather said as he searched. "when Gyro and Dr. Bellum build the machine, are you gonna have them change you back?"

"I've been thinking about that. I've decided to stay half plant; I think I can do more good for the plant community this way." He hesitated, then asked, "would you be OK with me as I am now? I mean, I know you were before, but now that I have the opportunity to change back, are you- I mean, do you think-"

"I like you as you are. I don't want you to change, in appearance, I mean. I like the reformed Reggie, the one who is not a member of the Fearsome five and not a criminal. I don't care if you're half plant or half cat as long as you're a good guy and you're my friend."

He beamed at her again.

"I just thought of something," she said, excited. "Gyro and Dr. Bellum can perfect your machine, make it do what you had originally intended."

"Yeah," he said, beaming again. "I hadn't thought of that!"

"Of course, you should get the credit."

"I'll share it with them; I can even be their test subject!"

"I wish I were brave enough to say the same," she said apologetically.

"After everything you've been through tonight, I wouldn't expect you to subject yourself to anymore trauma."

When he found the blueprints, they went back to Shush Headquarters where Gyro, Bellum, Darkwing and Launchpad were waiting.

Gyro surprised everyone by building the machine in a matter of hours. He tested it to make sure it worked properly. They did it in the lab as everyone else waited in J Gander's office. No one asked how they had tested it; Darkwing and Launchpad were all too familiar with Sara Bellum's experiments.

"Thank goodness!" Heather cried, hugging Bushroot. "No offense, but I prefer my own body."

"None taken," Bushroot said with a genuine grin.

"Gyro," Heather said, "do you have any idea why Reggie's machine didn't work for its intended purpose?"

"Yes, and I can fix it."

"You can?" Bushroot asked.

"You had some cogs out of alignment. I had to make them exactly the way they were on your blueprints or I wouldn't have been able to change Heather back, but all I have to do is adjust these cogs and everything will be fine."

"Can I help you test it when you're done?"

"No, it won't work for you that way now. You're already a plant."

"We'll hire some Shush agents," J Gander said, "and when the machine is perfected we'll make sure Dr. Bushroot gets the credit he deserves. It was a brilliant idea; too bad it didn't work the first time. We can change you back if you'd like, Dr. Bushroot."

Bushroot shook his head and explained why he wanted to remain half plant.

"Are you sure?" Bellum asked. "We have another machine; we made two, just in case. Darkwing and Launchpad can tell you how crazy things can get around here; we make spares of everything now."

Darkwing and Launchpad nodded. Darkwing could tell by Launchpad's expression that he was thinking about the fiasco with the Norma Ray.

"I'm sure. I wanna be able to help the plant community; until Heather, Launchpad and Darkwing, they've been my only friends for the past year. I owe them a lot."

"Reggie," Heather said, surprised, "I can still sense your thoughts."

Bushroot concentrated, then said, "I can still sense yours, too. It must be a residual effect."

"I like it."

"Me, too. We can have private conversations, eventually from my greenhouse to your mother's house."

"It'll also come in handy if Heather is ever in trouble again," Darkwing said.

"Good point," Heather said.

"Do yah think that'll be the only side-effect?" Launchpad asked Gyro and Bellum.

"Only time will tell," Bellum said.

Heather looked at the clock.

"Speaking of time, I need to get home; Mom will be worried sick."

"We'll drop you off," Darkwing said, "unless Bushroot wants to walk you home. If not we can drop him off, too."

"I'd like you to meet my mom," she told Bushroot.

"I'd like that, too. I'll walk you home."

They said goodbye to everyone and left for Redwing road, having a long telepathic conversation and laughing on the way. Anyone passing by would have thought they were crazy, but it was almost midnight and there were very few cars on the road and no pedestrians. Heather knew instinctively that she would not regret changing her mind about Reggie.

On the way, he sensed her feelings becoming more serious. She seemed pensive.

"Is something wrong?"

"I don't know how I let myself get so drawn in by Max."

"He showed you what you wanted to see; he's very intelligent and knows how to use people to get what he wants."

"On one hand I hate that I was ever with him, but on the other I wouldn't have Marvin if I hadn't been."

"Marvin is and should be your main focus. You didn't do anything wrong, Heather. Max decided to do the things he did, not you, and there was no way you could have stopped him."

"I woke up this morning with this horrible feeling in my stomach; I knew something bad was gonna happen. I was cocky and arrogant to think Max wouldn't find a way to come after me. He could have hurt my mom and Marvin. Why didn't I see what he was doing before-"

"You can't predict the future. Even when I was under the influence of the Norma Ray that wasn't easy to do."

"Launchpad told us on the way back to Shush how he could tell the future when he was under the influence of the ray."

"He also told us how erratic his powers were; the ray wasn't perfected until Megavolt fixed it. When The Five and I were using our powers a few weeks ago we didn't care about the future, only what we could get out of it. Actually, I cared what the future held for you and me, but I didn't wanna influence things. No matter what happens with us, I want it to happen naturally."

"I agree."

"Don't worry about Max anymore," he said gently. "He's not gonna get away this time. Annie told Darkwing all the villains we caught tonight were gonna be separated so they couldn't cook up another escape plan. We're not gonna have to deal with any of them for a very long time."

Just then, they reached Heather's front door. Reggie smiled as an elderly woman came rushing out to meet them. This could only be Heather's mother.

"Heather, what happened?" Elizabeth asked, throwing her arms around her daughter, not noticing her friend at first. "I've been worried sick! Max forged that horrible note saying Reggie had-"

She broke off, seeing Reggie standing a little behind Heather.

"Mom, this is my friend, Dr. Reginald Bushroot. Reggie, my mom, Elizabeth Fern."

"Pleased to meet you," Bushroot said.

"It's a pleasure to meet one of the heroes who saved my baby from that horrible husband of hers-"

"X-husband," Heather and Bushroot said together, smiling.

"Yes, and good riddance," Elizabeth said passionately. "Anyway, thank you, Dr. Bushroot, for saving Heather from Max and his goons."

"I'm glad I could help. I care about your daughter, Mrs. Fern."

"I can see that you do, and please, call me Elizabeth."

"Not unless you call me Reggie."

Elizabeth invited him in to have leftovers from dinner. As they entered the house, Heather excused herself briefly to go check on Marvin.

"We'll never have to see him again," she whispered to him, meaning Max.

She kissed is forehead, then went downstairs. The clock struck midnight as she sat between Reggie and Elizabeth at the table. She looked at both of them, smiling, feeling completely opposite the way she'd felt when she'd woken up that morning. Now she knew this would be a year filled with surprises and adventure. She felt intuitively that when you were friends with Reggie Bushroot, Launchpad McQuack and Darkwing Duck, anything was possible.


End file.
